A Tale Of Two Children
by Mr. Mega1423
Summary: Hat Kid and Bow Kid are living on a spaceship when they are stranded near a planet, thanks to some jerk from the... what? "Mafia of Cooks?" What a strange planet. Now they have to work together and explore every nook and cranny of the planet to get their fuel, the time pieces, back. But can they stop arguing for long enough to find them? Rated T for violence and other stuff.
1. Prologue

Prologue

There was a little girl with brown hair, a big purple top hat, a purple clothes, and a yellow cape inside a spaceship. For simplicity, she shall be called Hat Kid. Hat Kid was hopeless, alone, and scared. She scanned her surroundings for any planets or other spaceships. She was almost ready to give up. Just when she was about to give up on finding another planet or her way home, she spotted a solar system from the corner of her eye.

Full of glee, she set course for the planet, engaged her hyperdrive, and set sail toward the planet, but the smile was wiped right off her face when she saw the state of the sorry planet. It reminded her too much of her own. She got her (unnamed) ship to scan the stability of the planet, and the news was not good. The core was damaged and the planet was going to explode in minutes.

Knowing she wouldn't forgive herself for not trying, she landed on the surface of the planet and searched for people she could help evaccuate. She searched, and searched, and searched, until she came upon a little girl, about the same age as herself, with dark skin, a green shirt, blue skirt and bow, and purple eyes. The girl seemed lost and scared, much like she was. It reminded Hat Kid too much of herself. She ran towards the little girl, who panicked and tried running, but tripped and fell.

"Wait!" Hat Kid said, "It's ok, I just want to help." When the girl had calmed down, who we shall call Bow Kid, Hat Kid continued explaining.

"I'll help you get off the planet safely," Hat Kid continued.

"B-but... My friends... My family..." Bow Kid cried

Hat Kid heard beeping. She checked the planet's stability again. 30 seconds until self destruct.

"I'm sorry, but it's too late. If we stay here any longer, we'll all be destroyed with the planet," Hat Kid confessed.

Hat Kid offered her hand to Bow Kid, and pulled out a glowing hourglass, which she held up to the sky. Hesitantly, Bow Kid took her hand, and Hat Kid prepared to rocket into the sky.

"Okay, whatever you do, DO NOT let go of my hand," Hat Kid warned. Bow Kid nodded, still nervous about the event.

Just as Hat Kid and Bow Kid started shooting up into the sky, followed by screaming from Bow Kid, Hat Kid heard more beeping. 10 seconds until self destruct. As the duo neared the spaceship, much to the shock of an already shocked Bow Kid, the hatch of the ship opened and they climbed inside, and Hat Kid sprinted to the control seat and prepared the ship's hyperdrive.

"You might want to grab hold of something or sit down," Hat Kid said.

Bow Kid sat down next to the giant window and watched to her dismay as the spaceship took off and the planet split in two and exploded.

Hat Kid spent the next hour trying to console the sobbing child.


	2. Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Two girls were sleeping peacefully in a bunk bed. Upon closer inspection, it seems that the two girls were Hat Kid and Bow Kid, but slightly older than when they first met. Hat Kid, who was sleeping in the bottom bunk, woke up abruptly and jumped out of her bed when the alarm system of the ship went off, and crashed into the top bunk, startling a then sleeping Bow Kid from her slumber. Both girls then crashed into the floor beside the bed and beside eachother, and Hat Kid let out a groan of pain.

The duo then stood up, yawned, put on their signature accessories, and starting walking to the door. Looking out the window, it was clear they were on the very same spaceship that Hat Kid had in her possession back when the two met on that doomed planet.

Walking through a corridor and out into the main hub of the spaceship, the two climbed up a ladder and went over to a massive monitor with an exclamation point on it, and Hat Kid pressed the monitor, letting out a short "Boop!" as she did so. Stepping back, the monitor now displayed the duo's progress on their voyage, halfway from an explosion (Bow Kid's former planet) to a symbol of a house and trees with the word "Home" on it.

Hat Kid smiled when seeing this, and Bow Kid simply scratched the back of her head. She still had no idea what her captain's home was, why she was so desperate to go there, or even her name.

However, the duo were both startled from their thoughts when they heard a loud knocking behind them. Hat Kid climbed down the ladder and went to see where the noise was coming from, and was surprised to see a menacing, muscular man with a strange mustache, big eyebrows, a blue shirt and, strangely, an apron, knocking at the hatch of the spaceship. The mafia man noticed Hat Kid and started speaking in a foreign accent to her.

"What is this? Flying boat?" The man inquired, "All boats need to pay toll in mafia town, _even in space!_ Mafia come in to collect." Bow Kid was now at Hat Kid's side, wanting to see what the fuss was all about. Suddenly, the "Mafia" man started opening the hatch. Hat Kid then realized what he said and realized they had little to no money, and even if they did it was most likely not the currency he was looking for.

Panicking, Hat Kid then proceeded to force the hatch closed, sending the Mafia member back into space.

"HOW RUDE!" The Mafia goon yelled, and Hat Kid turned away, satisfied with what she did, and Bow Kid watched, concerned what the Mafia man would do. In a rage, not wanting to be bested by two little girls, he charged forward and smashed the hatch, causing the vacuum of space to suck out most of the air in the ship, along with the goon, Hat Kid, and Bow Kid.

Letting out screams as they fell, the two girls watched in horror as the vault containing their valuable fuel opened on its own and spilled out all of the fuel, magical hourglasses called Time Pieces, into space. Hat Kid watched one fly right over her shoulder. Making a noise that sounded half like a pout and a groan, Hat Kid grabbed onto Bow Kid and the duo started glowing as they entered the atmosphere.

After all that just occured, Bow Kid was scared out of her mind right now. For all she knew, they were going to be paste on the floor when they hit the ground. However, Hat Kid kept her cool, remembering a tactic her people use for re-entry into a planet, and looked for a suitable landing spot, and spotted a tarp they could go through to slow their fall.

It was not a very nice landing for the two when they ripped through the tarp and fell into a dark alleyway, but they were alive and without injuries, and that's all that mattered to the duo. However, the mafia goon was not so lucky as he crashed right beside them and was knocked out cold, possibly dead.

Angry, Hat Kid went over to the mafia goon and tried punching him in the face for revenge, but winced and bounced back in pain. Her little fists were not meant to be used as weapons.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Hat Kid motioned for Bow Kid to follow her, and they walked out of the alleyway, and say a mafia goon fall from the sky and land on top of another goon, both knocked out cold. Then, a little girl fell on top of the two with a triumphant pose, and Hat Kid noticed she had... a moustache? Intrigued, she stepped forward, but the little girl noticed them and ran off.

"Come on!" Hat Kid beckoned to Bow Kid.

The two then proceeded to follow the little moustached girl, through a building, through some grass, on top of a roof, avoiding a road, where Hat Kid and Bow Kid watched, perplexed as a mafia goon rolled a giant piece of meat down the road. The duo knew it would not be good to get caught underneath that.

The duo saw one jolly looking Mafia goon holding out his hand in a high-five pose. Interested, Hat Kid ran up to him and gave him a high five. The duo then proceeded to play patty cake, until it got fast pace and Hat Kid felt a fist hit her in the cheek, knocking her back a few meters. Infuriated, the duo tried attacking him, but he blocked all of their attacks, so they gave up and continued chasing the moustached girl. The duo stopped when they saw no trace of her, but heard her calling out from above.

"Hey you two! Down there! Don't think I didn't see you stalking me!" The girl shouted with an accent Hat Kid didn't recognize.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid then turned around and looked up, and saw her standing on a little tower.

"Us kids should stick together, not _stalk_ one another!" The mysterious girl continued, "I mean, Mafia Town can be a really dangerous place!"

'So that's what this strange, mafia overrun island is called,' Hat Kid thought to herself.

"So whaddaya say? Wanna join my little rebellion?" The girl asked.

The girl then put two and two together and thought of something.

"Oh by the way, do you two have anything to do with the **junk** falling from the sky?" The moustached girl inquired. The duo looked over to eachother and silently questioned if they should tell her or not. They decided they should, because she could help them. They nodded their heads.

"Yeah? Yikes, seems like _you've _got a lot of cleaning up to do, huh?" The girl continued, "Tell you what, come up here and I can show you where some of your junk landed!"

She pointed towards a button behind them. Hat Kid ran over and stepped on it, causing a crane to lower down so they could jump on it. The duo proceeded to do just that, and the crane raised back up suddenly, causing Bow Kid to almost fall off the edge. After that, the two girls climbed inside the tower, where an energetic girl (who shall be called Moustache Girl) was waiting.

"Follow me, rebel squad!"

The duo then followed her as she dove out the side of the tower and rolled on landing, and followed her on top of a planter box, where she was pointing towards a broken fountain.

"Hey, I think one of your junk pieces fell and smashed right into the market's fountain. Messed it up **real good**." Moustache Girl explained, "When going over there, just avoid making eye contact with the Mafia and you'll be fine. Good luck, fellow rebels!"

"See ya!"

With that explained, and with Moustache Girl gone, Hat Kid and Bow Kid smiled at eachother. Having friends on this planet who can help them without knowing the Time Pieces' terrible secret was going to make this much easier for them.

Hat Kid then jump and dove over a broken bridge, and beckoned for Bow Kid to do the same. Now, Bow Kid hadn't gone on any major excursions or adventures before this, unlike Hat Kid, and doubted her abilities, but with Hat Kid promising she couldn't get hurt she followed up and jumped over the bridge perfectly.

The duo saw to their annoyance that a Mafia goon had nabbed the Time Piece and was examining it, and was holding a blue umbrella with a star pattern and a pink umbrella with the same pattern. Hat Kid ran up to the mafia member, and pointed at him. The Mafia member didn't notice her, which annoyed Hat Kid.

"HEY!" She yelled, grabbing the annoyed Mafia Goon's attention. She pointed at the Time Piece and said "I'll take you!" and motioned for the Mafia Member to give her the artifact. When the goon ignored her, she got angry and walked up to him, ready to take it by force.

This angered the mafia goon, who held out the blue umbrella to keep Hat Kid at bay, and continued scrutinizing the Time Piece. Even angrier, Hat Kid looked behind her and motioned for Bow Kid to help her. Bow Kid then ran towards the troublesome Mafia goon and tried snatching it from his hands, but he noticed, threw the Time Piece above his head where it stayed, and held Bow Kid at bay with the pink umbrella.

The two girls then looked at eachother with mischevious looks on their faces, almost in a way of saying "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", and nodded to eachother, formulating a plan. The Mafia was confused by this action, and just when he was wondering what they were planning, the umbrellas were snatched from his hands and were held towards his face by two smug girls.

Unarmed, the Mafia Goon ran with the Time Piece following him, and a devilish smile came on Hat Kid's face, and a sheepish look on Bow Kid's.

"**Down with the Mafia!**" The mischevious Hat Kid yelled as she took off after the Mafia Goon, earning the attention of fellow Mafia goons, and Bow Kid chased the man as well. The two then cornered the man and whacked him repeatedly with the umbrellas until he fell down, knocked out cold.

"Thank you!" Hat Kid said in a happy, mischevious tone. Hat Kid then grabbed the Time Piece, doing a victory pose, then inspected the Time Piece for damage. There was none.

Bow Kid walked up to her and whispered to Hat Kid, "How do we get back to the ship now?"

A smirk came on Hat Kid's face as she inquired, "Remember when we first met?"

Bow Kid's smile dropped as she remembered and understood what Hat Kid meant.

"Do we have to do that? Is there no other way?" She pouted.

"It's either that or stay down here for the night." Hat Kid responded.

Bow Kid huffed, "Well, I guess I don't have a choice then," She said in a sad tone.

Hat Kid held the Time Piece towards the sky and grabbed Bow Kid's hand, and the two shot up into the atmosphere.


	3. Chapter 2: And So It Begins

Chapter 2: And So It Begins...

When the two girls got back inside the spaceship, the first thing Hat Kid did was put the Time Piece back into the fuel vault and to turn on the power to the main hub and kitchen. Most of the ship was still without power, but they weren't planning on staying around the spaceship for too long anyways.

Hat Kid went back over to the hatch of the spaceship, which had been repaired, and opened it, then beckoned for Bow Kid to follow suit. With their umbrellas held out, the duo jumped out of the spaceship (it took some time to convince Bow Kid that it was perfectly safe) and landed in the market district of Mafia Town, when they heard a familiar, rather concerning shout near them.

"Your cooking is bad and you're a bad person! NOW LET ME GO!" a familiar accented voice shouted. Hat Kid frowned, realizing what was likely happening, but she was distracted by some items strewn about the market. She ran under a pile of crates, picking up a ball of red and white yarn, and smiled, realizing she could put her unique talent to work. Hat Kid also proceeded to walk up to a safe, collected the tickets for said safe, and opened it, revealing another ball of the same yarn and some orbed, green diamonds.

'These are probably the currency of this planet,' She thought to herself.

She then took the two balls of yarn, weaved them into a singular orb, threw it up in the air, and with some magic and swirls from her umbrella, sewed it into a running cap.

"Presto!" She shouted as she did so. She ran back to Bow Kid, who was annoyed at how easily she had gotten distracted, and from the middle of nowhere, gave her an exact replica of the hat she just sewed. She decided not to question it and just take it.

Putting on the hats, the duo felt adrenaline pump through their veins and ran around the market to get used to it. After a few jumps and dives they came to an open area of Mafia Town with a large stack of explosive barrels with 5 mafia goons standing on it, 4 on the lower level dancing, and one on the very top holding a squirming Moustache Girl.

Hat Kid stepped forward with Bow Kid behind her, and one of the Mafia goons noticed them.

"Hey! Children! Shoo! Mafia can't have children witness when Mafia teaching lesson!" The goon yelled. Hat Kid was undeterred, and stared at the goon, and the goon stared back. Suddenly, Hat Kid gave him a raspberry, which made the goon rather uncomfortable.

"This awkward for Mafia. Mafia not sure what to do!" The goon said in an uncomfortable tone. Then, another Mafia goon turned and noticed what was going on.

"Boss, what do we do with eyewitnesses?" The other mafia goon asked.

"Teach them lesson, boys!" The higher ranking (and standing) Mafia responded.

The girls pulled out their weapons and braced for battle. The first mafia goon came down from the pile of barrels and swung at Hat Kid.

"Come to papa mafia!" he shouted as he charged, but Hat Kid jumped over him and whacked him repeatedly with her umbrella, knocking him out.

"Why you little..." The second mafia goon muttered, infuriated. He came down from the pile and charged at the two girls, but Bow Kid dashed backwards, causing the goon to fall flat on his face. The duo then smacked him in the face with their umbrellas, causing him to fall unconscious as well.

"I'm gonna take you two down!" Another Mafia goon yelled as he also stepped down from the pile. Hat Kid charged at him and tried repeatedly whacking him with her umbrella, but he watched them fight and learned to block the attack. "Child is predictable!" He shouted, but Bow Kid jumped off her head and stomped on the goon's head, completely surprising him. "You can jump?!" He questioned, but was knocked out of his thoughts, literally, when he was met with a flurry of umbrella whacks and was knocked onto the floor, skidded a few meters, and didn't get back up.

'Wow, these two might be more help to me then I originally thought!" Moustache Girl thought to herself.

"No children shall stand in the way of Mafia!" A fourth mafia goon shouted as he jumped off the pile. Bow Kid slipped behind him while Hat Kid got in his face. Suddenly, he turned around and punched Bow Kid square in the face, knocking her back a few meters with a yelp. This angered Hat Kid, who whacked him heavily with her umbrella before he turned around and blocked some of the attacks. She then jumped in the air, took some sort of pose, and collided into the goon, knocking him out cold.

Bow Kid had gotten up and was making sure she didn't lose any teeth when the leading Mafia saw all his cohorts defeated and became enraged.

"ENOUGH!" He yelled, stomping his foot down, "Mafia will not bow to little girls! Prepare to feel Mafia's wrath!" He then threw Moustache Girl roughly down into the pile of barrels, earning a yelp from her, picked up a spiked explosive barrel, and turned to Hat Kid.

"Heads up, little punk!" He shouted as he tossed the barrel towards her. The two girls' eyes widened when they realized what the Mafia goon was doing, and Hat Kid dashed out of the way. The barrel exploded behind her, sending a shiver down Hat Kid's spine as she realized what would've happened had she not reacted sooner.

"Do not think about avoiding barrels!" The frustrated goon yelled as he threw more barrels. The duo dodged the barrels rather easily, and the goon thought of a new tactic. "See if girls can handle THIS barrel!" He shouted confidently as he threw another barrel.

To the girls' surprise, instead of bouncing off and exploding, it turned around and started bouncing along the perimeter of the pile of barrels. Hat Kid realized the barrels would bounce high enough that they could walk under them if timed right, and shouted at Bow Kid to do so.

The goon threw more barrels, and in the chaos Bow Kid narrowly dodged a barrel, and a few spikes dug into her arm. She shouted in pain, but ignored it and continued dodging. The goon had stopped throwing barrels and the last one had exploded.

"This lead nowhere!" He shouted, impatient at how long the girls were lasting. "Mafia need to take care of this Mafia style! Prepare to feel what Mafia do to **old ladies!**" Hat Kid and Bow Kid did not like that last statement, and got angry that the Mafia would go far enough as to attack elderly people.

The goon had climbed down the pile and charged at Hat Kid. She dodged backwards and whacked the goon in the face, and Bow Kid had gotten behind him and whacked him a few times as well. He blocked the rest of their attacks, until Hat Kid had done her homing air attack again, startling him. "Ow! My head!" he shouted, startled. Tired of the fight, Hat Kid stepped beside Bow Kid and the duo let out one final flurry of umbrella attacks, hitting the goon so far he went flying into the sky and into the ocean.

Suddenly, a Time Piece appeared from the pile, apparently the mafia were keeping one. Hat Kid quickly climbed the pile and grabbed it, then climbed down. Moustache Girl had climbed out of the pile as well.

"Pfft. Can you believe them? What a bunch of _losers._" They heard a familiar accented voice say, and turned around. "Hey, you're alright, new kids. Do you have names?" Moustache Girl inquired, and the duo scratched their heads. They were both very shy about new people and were very reluctant to share details with anyone, even eachother.

"No? You two shy? That's cool, you're both 'less talk, more fighting' kind of girls, I take it." She continued, and noticed the hourglass in Hat Kid's hand. "That thing you grabbed there, are you two collecting them? Because I know where there's more of them." She pointed upwards. "They've been raining from the sky ever since you two arrived here. I've seen the goons bring it to their headquarters **way** up there." She continued speaking, then gasped, putting an idea together. "We should go up there and get your junk! It'll be fun! I'll take any oppurtunity that involves messing up the Mafia!" She continued, excited as ever. She turned to Hat Kid, guessing she was their leader. "You with me, buddy?" Bow Kid gave Hat Kid a concerned look, and Hat Kid smiled at her, to reassure her. She turned back to Moustache Girl, smiled, and the two high-fived, and Bow Kid rolled her eyes. She wasn't exactly in a good mood after all the events that transpired today.

Hat Kid held the Time Piece up, and motioned for Bow Kid to grab her hand, which amused Moustache Girl. Reluctantly, Bow Kid took it, and Hat Kid turned to Moustache Girl.

"If you find a way, come to our spaceship so we can plan the assault," She said quickly. The two didn't speak often, as they felt words should be kept for important events to insure people would listen.

Moustache Girl was going to ask what she meant, but was shocked when the two suddenly shot up into the sky.

"Okay then, maybe I can use one of the Mafia's cannons?" She asked herself.


	4. Chapter 3: Rivalry

Chapter 3: Rivalry

**A/N: Yes, I know, two chapters in one day? Well, my life is the opposite of busy and this chapter is important enough that I couldn't wait to write it and upload it, but was large enough that I couldn't include it in Chapter 2. Don't expect this too often.**

The two girls made it back up to the spaceship, and Bow Kid was not amused. Not only had she had to do this stupid Time Piece gimmick to get back up to the spaceship TWICE in one day, but now they were letting a complete stranger on the ship.

Hat Kid put the Time Piece back in the vault, and looked at the screen. 2/46. She turned back to Bow Kid, who looked extremely annoyed, but before she could ask if she was okay, the intruder alarm of the ship went off, startling Bow Kid. Hat Kid turned to the hatch and saw Moustache Girl climb inside.

Bow Kid was baffled. "How did you get into space?" She inquired.

Moustache Girl chuckled. "I could ask you two the same question, but I rigged one of the Mafia morons' steam cannons and used it to launch myself." Bow Kid stared at her blankly. Moustache Girl then grinned ear to ear and shouted, "So, are you ready to take down some Mafia? Let's do it, I'm _psyched!_" Suddenly, the trio were in a room with pink wallpaper and a blackboard. "Let's go over the plan. All assaults need a good plan, or it'll be a flop!" She continued. She flipped over the blackboard to a picture which shocked Hat Kid and Bow Kid, a picture of Moustache Girl suffocating a Mafia Goon with his own tie. Moustache Girl grinned sadistically. "First, we strangle them! Choke them and watch them beg for mercy! That'll show them!" Hat Kid took two steps back, completely appalled by the idea. Bow Kid simply gave her a blank stare again.

"Uh, w-we don't-" Hat Kid tried protesting, but Moustache Girl cut her off.

"No, wait, strangling is too kind..." Moustache Girl said blankly. Hat Kid was hopeful that meant she wouldn't kill anyone, but was disappointed to say the least when MG flipped over the blackboard to a picture of her stomping a goon and a jar stuffed with human remains. "We smash them together into mush, and put their remains in a jar! Then, we sell the jar for pocket money! That'll be the ultimate salt in the wound!" Hat Kid was utterly horrified. This new friend of theirs was **way** too violent, but maybe she had a reason for it.

She cleared her throat. "But first, we need to make it through their Mafia HQ. Once we find and dethrone the Mafia Boss, the rest should follow. Then, our mush and jar party will be no problem!" She continued. The two were definitely not on board with the idea, but they just sighed and went along with it. MG then flipped the blackboard over to a picture of a frowning Hat Kid. "But first, we've gotta get you geared up! Your hat and bow are basic, and we don't do basic in this gang!" She said happily. Hat Kid thought about this. It was true, all her top hat did was show her where to go, but she already made a sprint cap.

MG flipped the board again to a picture of a yarn ball with an arrow pointing to Hat Kid's hat. "Yarn can be found around Mafia Town and can be used to make new hats if you're crafty. I've collected one for you!" She continued speaking, and threw Hat Kid another ball of white and red yarn. They already had the hat, but could keep it for other hats.

"You need more yarn for some hats than others. I guess being creative isn't free, huh?" She said, and Hat Kid nodded. Creativity isn't exactly rewarded that much in the real world. She just wondered how MG found out about her secret ability. "So keep an eye out for yarn!" She finished speaking, and excitedly said, "Now you're killing machines! Lets go get them!" She then opened the hatch of the spaceship and jumped out. Hat Kid was extremely concerned how she was going to land alive. She had no umbrella, no secret alien tactic for falling from great heights. But she didn't question it. She might be crazy, but she isn't foolish. She wouldn't have jumped if she couldn't safely get down.

Bow Kid walked up to the big screen and stared sadly at it. Hat Kid noticed this and walked up to her and tried putting her arm around her.

"Are you ok?" she tried asking, but Bow Kid blocked her arm with hers, and Hat Kid noticed the cuts on her arm.

"Oh, yes, just super." Bow Kid said sarcastically. "We just woke up and we find out we're stranded near some stupid planet and have to search every nook and cranny of it to find our fuel and continue our voyage, and you have to ask me if I'm ok or not?" She scoffed.

Hat Kid frowned. "Calm down, I was just being concerned for you. " She replied, annoyed at her first officer's ungratefulness.

Bow Kid turned to her. She looked **mad**. "**Concerned**? Since when did _you_ care? You don't seem to care about the cuts on my arm." She said, getting angrier.

Hat Kid was getting angry as well. "You never mentioned it. How was I supposed to notice it when I didn't know about it?" She replied, raising her voice.

Bow Kid was furious. "Maybe _check_?" She barked sarcastically, also raising her voice.

Hat Kid was enraged. She was her captain. She should be treating her with more respect. "I was busy. I cant do thirty things at once!" She yelled.

"So I'm less important to you than making one of your **stupid** hats?" Bow Kid yelled back.

Hat Kid was shocked. "I didn't say that! Never once did I even _imply_ that! Even if I did, I am your _captain_! Your superior officer! You should treat me with more respect!" She hissed.

Bow Kid snorted. "And why would that be?" She replied, with a smirk.

Hat Kid literally could not believe her ears. Does she not remember her old planet? "What do you mean'**why**'? _I saved... your life!_" She shouted. She was more angry than she had ever been before, and it made Bow Kid take a step back.

Bow Kid nodded slowly. "Yeah, but knowing how _pathetic_ you are, you only did it so you could get a servant to boss around." She hissed back.

Hat Kid was shocked. "Y-you really think that lowly of me?" She replied, hurt. Tears were beginning to stream down her face. But her hurt turned back into rage. She stomped over to the hatch. "If you really think so poorly of me, then you can jump out this hatch and **never return**!" She screamed, then sat down in front of the TV.

Bow Kid was surprised. Her captain was more sensitive than she thought she was. "I-I can't. I need to come with you." She replied, which angered an already furious Hat Kid, who stood up, turned to face Bow Kid, and walked up so close to her the two were almost touching.

"Really? If that's the case, then I don't care if you think I'm the universe's greatest hero or worst villain. If you're gonna live in **MY **ship, you're going to follow **MY** rules, obey **MY** orders, and respect **MY** command. If you don't, I'll throw you out the hatch myself and take off in front of your very eyes." Hat Kid shouted, causing Bow Kid to step back more. "_**Are. We. Clear?**_"

Bow Kid was purely shocked at what her captain just said. "Y-yes." She replied.

"Good." Hat Kid said, still angry about the whole fiasco. "Now get lost, I need to be by myself for awhile."

Bow Kid stomped over to the kitchen and shouted at Hat Kid, "You're the worst captain ever!"

Hat Kid simply nodded. "Mhm hm. But I am your superior officer, and you shall treat me so, no matter what. Or you will leave. Your decision."

Bow Kid ran into the kitchen and sat down, while Hat Kid pried open the doors to her powered-down bedroom, climbed into her bed, and as their rage ceased, they cried themselves to sleep.


	5. Chapter 4: They Came From Outer Space

Chapter 4: They Came From Outer Space

Hat Kid woke up in the middle of the night suddenly, jumping out of her bed panting, sweating profusely, and crying. She had dreamed that Bow Kid had left her, just like someone _else_ had done a long time ago. When she calmed herself down, she reprimanded herself for having a nightmare so easily and for going too far when they argued. But she shrugged it off and decided it would be a good idea to explore for some more Time Pieces before attacking the Mafia base.

She pried open the doors to the main hub and went into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Bow Kid sleeping there, dried tears staining her face. Then Hat Kid remembered that she freaked at her and told her to get lost, and wanted to apologize, but couldn't.

Instead, she went over to her and nudged her, waking her up. When she woke up, she scowled.

"What do you want?" She asked, annoyed. She was beginning to want to apologize to her Captain for snapping at her, but she was annoyed that she woke her up from her peaceful slumber.

"I just thought we should go look for more Time Pieces before we start the assault on the Mafia base," Hat Kid responded calmly. "If you want to, you can stay here, but I'm going out regardless."

"Ok, fine, I'll tag along." Bow Kid said briskly. Nodding in response, Hat Kid walked out of the kitchen and looked out the window, and saw storm clouds covering Mafia Town. They were going to have to wear their raincoats for this expedition. Going back into her bedroom and grabbing her and Bow's raincoats, she came back into the kitchen and tossed it to Bow Kid, who caught it effortlessly.

The two then jumped back down onto the planet and landed near some docks. Hat Kid spotted a ball of yarn inside some room she couldn't access, with a stumped Mafia standing near it. She ran up to him. After he quickly explained that he was baffled how to get into the room, Hat Kid jumped on top of the room and saw a small blue panel with a snowflake on it.

She frowned, and guessed she'd probably need another hat to get that yarn. Hat Kid ran back to Bow Kid and told her that it would probably be a good idea to search Mafia Town for any more yarn, earning a roll of the eyes from Bow Kid, who simply nodded and began running around.

After the two had thoroughly searched the town, helping out some townsfolk who rewarded them handsomely for helping them, collecting some Pons, and getting some purple yarn with vials on it and more Sprint Yarn, the two met up in the market district of Mafia Town.

"How much yarn did you collect?" Hat Kid asked Bow Kid.

"Four balls of yarn," She answered.

"Yeah, same," Hat Kid responded. After Bow Kid gave Hat Kid her yarn, she took the purple yarn balls, thinking of what she could make with it, and made a witch's hat with vials on it, and smiled at her handiwork. Giving Bow another copy of the hat, Hat Kid ran up to some crates with caution tape and used her magic to cause a vial of explosive chemicals to appear in her hand. Shaking it to mix it up, she tossed it and it created a large explosion which decimated the crates, getting them more Pons and another ball of Sprint Yarn.

After that, Bow Kid was getting impatient again. They were getting sidetracked, again. "We should probably focus more on getting the Time Pieces back," She told Hat Kid. Hat Kid simply waved it off.

"Relax, the ship hasn't detected any anomalies in time and we aren't in a hurry, why not have some fun?" She said happily. Bow Kid didn't speak again after that.

The two then ran around Mafia Town until Hat Kid climbed a ladder, and saw a Mafia goon with weird goggles that looked extremely paranoid holding a time piece, but before she could approach him, she slipped in some mud and fell, covering her entire body in mud.

She groaned, realizing she would have to wash her clothes by hand because their laundry room was still without power, and the Mafia goon turned to her, and gasped in shock at what he saw.

"What the..? Huh?" He began, panicking. "Its-its slimy space alien!" Hat Kid looked behind her, but didn't see anything except Bow Kid hanging onto the ladder, confused. Hat Kid then turned back to the goon and realized that she was the 'slimy space alien'.

"Mafia saw spaceship! Mafia knew all along!" The goon shouted, scared out of his mind. "Mafia is being invaded by aliens! AHHH!" The goon then took off, jumping over a gap, and stopped, thinking the alien wouldn't be able to follow him. Hat Kid was barely able to repress her laughter.

Hat Kid jumped over the gap easily and ran towards the goon, who let out a girly scream and took off again, climbing some crates. Both girls were baffled at this mafia's abilities. But then again, adrenaline makes you much stronger than you would normally be. Hat Kid climbed some pipes, jumped onto a shorter platform, and jumped onto the pile of crates where the paranoid Mafia was sitting.

Letting out another high pitched scream, he jumped onto a floating box of grass with a tree on it, then onto a floating banner with the word "Mafia" on it in all capital letters. Hat Kid followed him easily, and as he let out another shriek, he jumped onto a floating platform and jumped up to a higher level.

Hat Kid saw a floating wall next to the goon with a picture of the Mafia Boss spray painted onto it looking dumb, well, more dumb than normal.

'Probably the work of Moustache Girl,' Hat Kid thought to herself, then remembered to look for her once they were done with the dorky mafia goon. Hat Kid jumped towards the wall and ran up it for a meter or two before she started sliding down, and kicked off of it onto the platform.

The mafia goon was scared for his life. This tiny alien was far more agile than he had originally estimated. He jumped onto another floating platform, then jumped onto a larger floating platform with some barrels, crates, and one of the giant meat pieces on it. Hat Kid followed him, and he turned to her and fell to his knees. He was cornered, and completely out of energy. He thought his life was going to end right there.

Huffing and puffing, he shouted: "Leave Mafia alone, you monster!" Hat Kid didn't budge. "Here, if Mafia give you _this_, will you go away?" He pleaded, and released the Time Piece. Hat Kid jumped over the Mafia Goon's head and grabbed the Time Piece.

"Thank you!" She responded to the Mafia Goon, who was baffled at how childish and, well, human, the alien sounded. Hat Kid then jumped down, jumped into some water to clean herself off, and returned to Bow Kid, who was rolling on the floor laughing.

"Wow," Bow Kid said gleefully. "Those Mafia jokers are dumber than I thought!" Hat Kid smiled at her, happy to see her happy again. "So, what now?" She continued, unable to think of anything else to do.

"I think it's time we paid the Mafia Boss a visit," Hat Kid said mischeviously.

"Okay, but if that moustached girl is right about where their base is, how do we get up there?" Bow Kid inquired.

Hat Kid pointed to the cannon next to them. "We use the same thing she used to come to us." She responded. Bow Kid wasn't certain about the idea, but gave in when Hat Kid reminded her that she had an umbrella she could use to glide down.

Hat Kid jumped into the cannon, which in response pointed upward and shot her up into the sky. Bow Kid hesitantly jumped into the cannon after her, and the duo landed on a target painted on the floor.

"You two took your time!" A familiar, feminine voice said impatiently, and the two turned to see some Mafia Goons throwing cans up at a distressed Moustache Girl. "Help me out here! Get these **brutes** off my case and we can go inside!" The two were already on it and they easily knocked out each of the Mafia goons.

Moustache Girl jumped down. "Good job, you two!" She said in a proud manner. She then jumped down and jumped on a button, and motioned for Hat Kid and Bow Kid to stand on two other buttons.

After that, an iron gate opened in front of them, and they went inside as Moustache Girl shouted "Lets go, it's showtime baby!" excitedly. She had never been so close to completely disrupting the Mafia before.

As the trio walked inside, Moustache Girl ran off and they didn't see where she went, as they were busy focusing on a Mafia Goon bringing a Time Piece into a theater area.. Just as Hat Kid was looking around and Bow Kid was thinking about what to do, Hat Kid felt a crumpled tin can hit her in the face.

"Little girls shoo! This is Mafia base!" A goon shouted angrily at the duo. Infuriated, Hat Kid ran up to him and gave him a hard whack with the umbrella, sending him skidding across the floor. Every other Mafia Goon turned to her, annoyed. Hat Kid simply sent them threatening glares as the Mafia Goons pretended they didn't see anything.

Hat Kid ran into a room and saw a key behind a grate, and saw a button. She stood on the button, raising the grate, and tried running over and grabbing the key, but faceplanted into the grate, which lowered when she stepped off the button. She walked out of the room and motioned for Bow Kid to come into the room. She motioned for her to stand on the button and she did so, and Hat Kid grabbed the key and tried running out, but faceplanted against the grate, as Bow Kid decided to step off the button to see what happened.

Hat Kid fell backwards, confused, and Bow Kid laughed at the expression on her face. Hat Kid then sent her a nasty look, and she stopped laughing and stepped on the button. Hat Kid was not pleased at what her first officer just did, and just ran out of the room.

"Oh come on, it was just a joke!" Bow Kid pouted, following after her. "You said to have fun while we're here!"

"Yes, but not in that way. Prank a Mafia Goon or something, **NOT ME**." Hat Kid hissed. Bow Kid frowned, but said nothing. Hat Kid walked over to a stool and sat down. She needed to sit down for a minute. However, she did not realize she sat down at a bar, and the Mafia bartender saw the expression on her face.

"What's troubling you, little girl?" The mafia asked in a soft tone, "Mafia not know what child drink." Hat Kid simply smiled at him and waved, to tell him she didn't need anything to drink. The mafia continued: "Whatever problem is, Mafia sure you can deal with it. You look like tenacious type, not leave problem alone. Other little girl run into kitchen, if you are looking for her. She look like unruly type. Keep eye on her." Hat Kid nodded, and got up.

Bow Kid ran over to her, and the two went into the kitchen, and gagged at the state of the kitchen. Trashy appliances, everything was dirty, some cans of what looked like the Mafia's excuse for food, and cockroaches everywhere. Covering their noses, they walked over to Moustache Girl, who noticed the key in Hat Kid's hand.

"Go ahead, kid. Open this thing up and I'll keep watch out here!" She said joyfully. Hat Kid then put the key into the lock, which busted, and opened the door. Bow Kid tried following her in, but Hat Kid held her arm out to halt her.

"Stay here." Hat Kid ordered. "The Mafia Boss might not be very friendly to me."

"But if that's true, I want to help!" Bow Kid pouted, annoyed.

"No," Hat Kid said, stubbornly. "I don't w-" She stopped herself, then continued, "I don't need you getting hurt."

Bow Kid was getting irritated. "I'm not staying here, this place is a m-" She responded, but was cut off.

"**Captain's orders.**" Hat Kid said calmly.

Bow Kid was hurt. She turned around and crossed her arms, then walked out of the room and stood next to Moustache Girl. It was just then Hat Kid noticed she was in a freezer, and there was fish everywhere. It was tough for her not to think of any fish puns, but she managed to keep them down. She climbed some meat hanger racks and landed on a platform next to a vent, then crawled into the vent.

Before she realized what was happening, the vent gave out and she fell onto a pile of gold coins, which shocked her. No one needs that much money. Getting back to the task at hand, she walked out into the hall, and saw the Mafia Boss sitting on a throne with two Mafia Goons near him, and she ran towards him, but a gate was raised before her and behind her, trapping her.

Just then, two Mafia Goons came from behind some curtains and attacked her, but she dodged them, threw some potions at them, and whacked them with her umbrella multiple times, knocking both goons out cold. After that, the gates lowered, and she continued toward the Mafia Boss. She stopped in front of him, and he jumped down from his throne and landed in front of her.

"So, it is you!" He yelled spitefully. "Ever since you landed in Mafia Town, it's been raining with these _magical hourglasses_!" He seem amused. "You must be very lost, kid with the hat." He said in a smug tone. "You're in the heart of our town, standing before the most powerful man you will **ever witness!** Everything you've ever owned belongs to me now, including this hourglass piece." Hat Kid was not going to let this fool keep her valuable fuel. "If you want it, we'll have to settle it in _true Mafia style!_" He continued.

Bow Kid was not happy with Hat Kid. Captain or not, she felt it was her right to help her fight the Mafia Boss, but she was being held back.

She looked up into the vent she saw Hat Kid crawl through, then heard Moustache Girl yelp out in alarm, but before she could turn around to see what was going on, she felt a muscular arm roughly lock around her neck and a calloused hand cover her mouth.

Hat Kid was tossed onto a stage.

"Lights!" Stagelights activated on the two enemies, and the Mafia Boss was standing there with two machetes, which did not please Hat Kid.

"Action! It is... SHOWTIME!" He finished, then spun around rapidly with his machetes and charged at Hat Kid. Sensing his guard lower, she jumped above him and stomped on his head. He snarled at her. "You're no match for me!" He shouted angrily. The Mafia Boss then jumped to the right side of the stage and started spinning in place, building up static electricity.

"Supercharge!" He shouted as blasts of electricity ran along the floor at Hat Kid. She easily jumped over the blasts, and saw the Mafia Boss become dizzy. She ran up to him and whacked him hard with her umbrella. He then jumped off the stage, and whistled. Hat Kid heard cranking of levers and shifting, and looked up to see stage sand bags about to drop on her head. She sidestepped out of the way, and the Mafia Boss jumped back onto stage and tried landing on her. This pattern continued for about a minute until the Mafia Boss got angrier. He snarled angrily at her and stomped in place for a few seconds, almost like he was throwing a temper tantrum.

He then jumped backstage, threw his machetes like boomerangs onto the stage, and jumped onto an unexpecting Hat Kid, knocking her back with a shout of pain. She saw the machetes fly back toward the Mafia Boss and jumped over them, then homing attacked him, causing him to jump to the right side of the stage. Hat Kid heard more cranking, and the Mafia Boss smiled darkly as Hat Kid looked up and saw her two friends being hung from the ceiling.

"I've got your friends captured, and soon you will all perish!" He shouted sinisterly.

"Hat! Help!" Bow Kid shouted.

"Let go of me, you psycho!" Moustache Girl yelled angrily. Hat Kid was absolutely furious. How dare he attack her best friends? She snarled at the boss, who laughed in response.

Suddenly, something occured that baffled the three girls. "MAFIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA BALL!" The boss shouted as a bunch of Mafia Goons congregated into a massive ball. The boss then started rolling it toward Hat Kid, who ran back, terrified. The ball just missed her and rolled to the other side of the stage, and Hat Kid expected it to fall apart, but it started rolling back.

"Hat Kid!" Moustache GIrl shouted impatiently. "Hit him already!"

"How?" Hat Kid responded. "What, am I gonna climb it?"

"Yes!" Bow Kid yelled. "Did you not see? There's a hole in the side of it, climb into it and hit him!"

Hat Kid did just that, and the ball dispersed and the enemies fell to the floor. The boss looked extremely angry. He jumped to the right side of the stage and spun in place, but faster.

"Ultracharge!" He shouted, and Hat Kid's eyes widened when she saw him do his electricity attack again, but with bouncing sparks and much faster. She barely managed to dodge them all, but the boss wasn't done yet. Furious, he span much faster and shouted "MEGACHARGE!" as he rapidly fired red blasts of electricity at Hat Kid, who got hit by one of the blasts and screamed out in agony.

But she wasn't down for the count yet. She saw him dizzy again, and could sense he was tired. Preparing herself, she charged at the boss, let out a war cry, and gave him the hardest whack with her umbrella ever.

"It.. can't be!" The boss shouted before falling down to the stage, out cold. Hat Kid fell to her knees. She wasn't in a good condition after that battle. Slowly, she got back up, grabbed the time piece from the boss's pocket, and lowered her two friends from the ceiling. The trio then turned to the observing Mafia, who gasped and ran.

Moustache Girl, curious about the item, ran up to Hat Kid it snatched it from her hands. Confused, she turned, and to her dismay, found her carelessly tossing it up in the air repeatedly.

"So, what do these things do anyway?" She inquired. "Are they some sort of collector's item for **nerds?**" Bow Kid snarled at Moustache Girl, which amused her. However, she stopped paying attention to the artifact in her hand and she threw it too high, and it slipped from her hand and fell to the floor before anyone could grab it.

Time froze, then rewound. Moustache Girl looked like she was tossing the Time Piece up, but wasn't.

"Are they some sort of rare c-" She repeated herself, but stopped herself. "Wait, huh?" She looked down and saw the Time Piece on the ground, cracked slightly. She realized what just happened.

"Woah, WHAT?" She shouted. "Did, um, did you two know about this?" Hat Kid, angry about her treatment of the item, ripped it out of her hands, then nodded her head.

Moustache Girl got excited. "This is crazy! Do you even realize what could be done with these?" She shouted excitedly. "We could make it so you never got punched in the face by the Mafia that one time!" Hat Kid and Bow Kid didn't think it was worth rewinding time for. "We could beat up the mafia, go back in time, then beat them up again!" MG shouted, over the moon.

"That would cause a-" Hat Kid tried to explain, but was cut off, again.

"No, wait, we could make it so the Mafia never arrived on the island!" Moustache Girl continued, and the two girls got extremely nervous about what the consequences would be if she got her hands on a Time Piece. Moustache Girl put her arm around Hat Kid and a fist to the sky. "Wait, wait, even better! We could be crime-fighting time travellers!" She finished, but Hat Kid stepped back and stood next to Bow Kid, then shook her head no. Time Pieces cannot be used for personal gain. To her people, the punishment for said crime is death. Moustache Girl was heartbroken.

"Wait, what? This doesn't make any sense!" She pouted angrily. "You have **all** this power, and you aren't going to use it to fight evil?" The duo shook their heads no. No meant no. Moustache Girl was furious, and turned away from the two. "If you aren't going to use them to fight evil, then I will!" She shouted, then ran up to Hat Kid and pointed at her aggressively. "I'll collect all the Time Pieces for myself! You have my word on it!" She yelled before stomping off the stage, leaving the two troubled girls behind. Hat Kid realized she felt slightly lighter, then checked her pockets. The Time Piece was still there, however... "She pickpocketed half of my pons!" Hat Kid shouted angrily, and Bow Kid tried chasing after Moustache Girl, but she was long gone. Bow Kid snarled angrily.

"Well, I guess lets go back up to the ship" Hat Kid said sadly. She held up the Time Piece and Bow Kid grabbed her hand, and the two went through the roof and zoomed into the sky.


	6. Chapter 5: Intellect

Chapter 5: Intellect

Bow Kid yawned and stood up. After the battle with the Mafia Boss and the confrontation with Moustache Girl, they decided to go back to sleep. When she had gotten out of bed, she saw that her captain was still sleeping, and was going to wake her up when suddenly a very loud alarm echoed throughout the ship.

Hat Kid nearly jumped out of bed and ran into the main hub and over to the big monitor, which had an exclamation point on it. Tapping the monitor, it switched to a message.

**Warning. Time Rift detected.**

Hat Kid frowned, and tapped the screen again. Bow Kid was just confused. She'd never heard of a 'Time Rift', but she could guess it had to do with a Time Piece. Hat Kid was given an image of a swirling blue orb in a broken pipe with arrows pointing toward it, and ran over to the hatch.

"Hold on just a minute," Bow Kid said in a stern tone. "You never told me about no 'Time Rifts'."

"Yeah, about that, we need to go. Now." Hat Kid said impatiently.

"If I'm going to go on some excursion into some sort of time anomaly or whatever then I want an explanation first." Bow Kid responded.

Hat Kid huffed. "Fine," She said back, annoyed. She paused for a minute before beginning.

"You know how when someone breaks a Time Piece they can use the energy released to rewind time or give themselves immense power?" Hat Kid inquired.

"Yeah, that's why the biggest rule is to never touch them unless you say so." Bow Kid replied.

"Well, when the energy released by a broken Time Piece isn't channeled and controlled by someone, a Time Rift happens." Hat Kid said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, but still, what **is** a time rift?" Bow Kid asked..

"A tear in the fabric of time, that if left unchecked, would grow until it becomes unstable and eventually cause the fabric of space-time to tear itself apart, ending the Universe." Hat Kid answered. Bow Kid simply stared at her, eyes wide. All she understood was that the universe would rip itself apart if these rifts weren't fixed. She was amazed at the sheer intellect of her hatted companion.

"Uhh, so, what do we need to do?" Bow Kid asked again.

"We need to enter the rift, navigate through it, find the Time Piece, and use it to sew space-time back together and exit the rift before it seals completely." Hat Kid responded. "Blue rifts are stable and can be left alone for awhile, if you have more important things to do. However, purple rifts are unstable and have to be sealed as soon as possible. Fortunately, this is a blue one."

"Okay then..." Bow Kid responded, flabbergasted. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"Nothing, lets go," Hat Kid said happily. The two then jumped out the hatch and floated down to Mafia Town, and began searching for the rift. It didn't take too long to find it, and Bow Kid was shocked when she saw Hat Kid touch the rift, rewind time, and disappear. Panicking, she did the same thing.

When the two girls opened their eyes, they were in a sea of clocktowers with a whale flying around the place. Bow Kid was surprised that she could breathe underwater, but the fact that Time itself was torn probably altered physics a bit. She smiled. It was so peaceful in this place, but then she looked down, and chills ran down her spine. If she fell, she would fall forever into the endless abyss.

Hat Kid saw Bow Kid's anxiety, and smiled. "Relax," she said, "If you fall in a Time Rift you get warped back to a light post. Although, the rapid change in velocity will not exactly be soft on your body."

Hat Kid then jumped onto some platforms that extended and retracted, and Bow Kid followed soon after. After some simple platforming, they saw the Time Piece floating there, and Hat Kid grabbed it, and motioned for Bow Kid to grab her hand. Bow Kid was amazed her captain closed her eyes, the Time Piece glowed, and the background seemed to disappear and be replaced with the familiar background of Mafia Town. They were back in the pipe, with a Time Piece in stow, making five out of fourty-six.

"So, now that that's taken care of, what do we do now?" Bow Kid inquired.

"Lets look around and see if we find anything." Hat Kid replied.

After a bit of exploring the outer reaches of the island, they came to a deserted part of the beach with warning signs everywhere. To Bow Kid's amusement, there was a Mafia Goon sitting on top of a rocket, and saw the two girls approach him, and smirked.

"Haha!" He began smugly, "Rockets are fast, and if Mafia on rocket, Mafia is fast! Fastest man alive!" Hat Kid crossed her arms, tilted her head, and frowned disapprovingly at him, as if to say that isnt how it works. He smirked at her. "Little child want to race fastest man alive? Mafia stole Time Piece from HQ." Hat Kid's eyes widened as she realized he just called the all-powerful artifact by name. He smirked again. "If you win, Mafia give it to you." He finished.

Hat Kid smirked back at him. "Race me, chicken!" She shouted.

The Mafia grinned from ear to ear. "It is on! Mafia not sure if Mafia survive this, but at least Mafia die fastest man alive!" Hat Kid prepared herself, and the countdown began. However, the Mafia zoomed off before the countdown finished.

'Okay' She thought to herself. 'If you're gonna cheat, I'm gonna cheat.'

She took off and ran the opposite direction the goon ran, jumped over a river, landed on the beach, and jumped into the steam cannon there. She blasted through the large doors and onto the other side of the island, and saw the Mafia zoom by. She snarled. She saw the downward sloped bridge to the Time Piece and dove on it, causing her to slide and slide down lightning fast into the Time Piece, and just before the Mafia could grab it, she grabbed it and put it in her pocket.

The mafia was furious. "Little girl cheat! Little girl is chicken!" He yelled angrily. Hat Kid smirked at him.

"You took off before the countdown finished," She responded smugly. "If you're gonna cheat..."

Bow Kid ran next to her, panting. She wasn't used to running for that long. "We're gonna cheat!" She finished Hat Kid's words for her. The Mafia was going to step off the rocket and take the Time Piece back by force, when the rocket malfuctioned and blasted him off into the sky with a shriek.

"Ha!" Hat Kid shouted smugly. "That'll show those morons how outdated single stage incendiary propulsion is!" Bow Kid chuckled, having no idea what she was talking about. "Well," She said, satisfied, "Let's go put these Time Pieces back in the vault." Bow Kid nodded. The two then rocketed up into the sky, and when they got back, Hat Kid put the Time Pieces back into the vault, went into the kitchen, and got herself a drink of ice water.

Little did she know that both girls would soon never take water for granted again.


	7. Chapter 6: Heroes

Chapter 6: Heroes

**A/N: After seeing how long Chapter 4 was, I decided to make these chapters a bit shorter to balance it out a bit. Sorry if that was a bit of a let-down. However, considering I have a whole week off of school for February Break, I plan on writing quite a bit more, so look forward to that. I look forward to seeing what y'all have to say about my little story here, and getting to Battle of the Birds. Enjoy!**

Hat Kid tapped the monitor, and checked to make sure there were no other Time Rifts on the planet. She didn't feel like screwing with space-time again, as it gave her a headache and was exhausting. Satisfied that the search came up with nothing, she turned, jumped down, and looked out the window, but was confused when the normally blue oceans around Mafia Town were covered with a sea of orange.

"Uhh," She began, baffled as to what may be happening, "Bow, come here for a minute."

"Okay, any reason why?" Bow Kid replied, walking out into the main hub. She saw her confused captain looking out the window and walked up to her, and was also baffled by the sight. "What is this?" She asked, to no one in particular.

"No clue," Hat Kid responded, "but we have to go down there and see what's going on. The town could be in huge danger." Bow Kid nodded, and the two jumped out the hatch.

As the two girls landed, they were blasted by a wave of heat and began fanning themselves with their parasols. Only then did Hat Kid realize the orange substance covering Mafia Town was molten rock. She saw the paranoid mafia goon from earlier and ran up to him. He turned to her, clearly troubled.

"Look at mess! This is terrible!" He began, "Someone turn on all faucets in mafia town, same faucets that control town volcano!" Hat Kid gave him a disapproving look, wondering why in the Universe anyone would make such a thing. The goon raised an eyebrow. "Was it you, child?" He questioned, and Hat Kid shook her head no, "No? Mafia think he saw a little girl turn on all faucets."

Hat Kid realized who the little girl was and clenched her fists. She was going to make MG pay for what she did, if and when she found her. "Little hat kid, can you save Mafia Town by turning off all faucets?" The goon asked, hopeful. She nodded her head. Bow Kid ran up to Hat Kid, still fanning her face with her umbrella. "If you close all, maybe water start flowing again!"

"So, what's going on?" She asked her captain.

"Moustache Girl went crazy and turned on the giant faucets in Mafia Town, causing lava to spill everywhere." Hat Kid answered, voice full of anger. Bow Kid could barely keep herself from screaming. First, she wants to misuse the most powerful objects in the universe, then she tries burning down the planet just to kill the people she doesn't like?

"So, what's the plan?" Bow Kid asked again.

"I'll go find each of the faucets and turn them off." Hat Kid responded.

"Don't you mean 'we'll'?" Bow Kid asked once more.

Hat Kid shook her head apologetically. "No," She simply stated. "I can already tell the heat is getting to you, so I'll do it myself."

"But we could stop the lava quicker if we both track down the faucets," Bow Kid pouted. "I'm not gonna sit here and burn. If I'm going to die to fire and lava, I can at least die trying to stop it."

Hat Kid turned to her, furious. "Can you walk a tightrope? Run and jump off of a wall? Jump in the air?" She inquired, "Do you have superhuman strength, speed, and endurance?"

Bow Kid was shocked. "Um, well-"

Hat Kid was getting impatient. "'Well,' is not an answer." She interrupted.

Bow Kid gave up. "No, I don't have any of those skills."

Hat Kid nodded her head, knowing she won the argument. "Then you stay here." Bow Kid turned away from her captain and sat down. However, when she saw her captain leave the area, she jumped to a nearby building.

Hat Kid took off, and jumped over to a tower with a faucet on it, and landed on the faucet. She realied it was the same tower where they met Moustache Girl, and could feel the heat emanating like mad from the faucet. She knew she had to turn it off somehow, but did not feel like burning her hands by touching the faucet, so she tried whacking it with her umbrella, and it turned. She whacked it more, and it turned off. Lava stopped flowing from the faucet, and some Mafia goons cheered.

Hat Kid smiled, and took off for the market district. She remembered seeing a giant faucet there, and wondered what it was for, but didn't want to turn it on. Arriving at the market district, she jumped on a decorative rope and walked across it, and jumped on the nearby faucet.

She whacked it repeatedly, until it turned off. Hat Kid heard more cheering, and heard the Mafia yelling motivational words to her. Jumping up from the faucet, she turned and went back towards the tower, and turned to the right when she saw another faucet attached to a wall, near a ship sinking into the lava.

After a simple tightrope walk and a small gap, she landed on the ground and jumped over the edge, onto the faucet. After some more whacks, it turned off. Looking out for more faucets, she spotted one on the side of the lighthouse, but wondered how she could get over there. She was surprised to see her first officer already there, whacking the faucet. She sprinted towards the lighthouse as fast as her little legs could take her there, jumping across a lava-filled river and dodging some obstacles before she got there.

Bow Kid smiled to herself, feeling proud that she turned off one of the faucets. She jumped over to a tightrope, and almost fell into the lava, but caught herself. She then finally realized she was effortlessly walking on a tightrope, and grinned from ear to ear. She walked across the tightrope to a small island and jumped across some balloons to get back to the main island.

Hat Kid was waiting for Bow Kid, and she was not happy. She put her hands to her hips as Bow Kid's smile disappeared.

"What did I say would happen if you disobeyed my orders?" Hat Kid asked her first officer. Bow Kid's heart dropped.

"Wait, please, don't be mad." She pleaded to her captain. "I just couldn't stand to stay there. I felt like I was going to die from the heat, and I couldn't bear the thought that you could get hurt or die and I would never know."

Hat Kid was shocked. Did she really just say that? "So, you disobeyed my direct orders because you were worried for me?" She questioned her first officer.

"I-I guess so," Bow Kid responded, hoping it would maybe calm her furious captain.

Hat Kid huffed. On the one hand, if she made Bow Kid stay with the Mafia until it was done, she could insure her safety, but on the other hand, she could help her if something bad happened, or finish the job if she failed. She made her decision.

"Okay," Hat Kid said, defeated. "Fine, you can come along." Bow Kid smiled happily toward her captain. "However," Hat Kid continued, "I'm still not happy you went against my orders, but that's something we can deal with later. Come on."

The two girls could not find the last faucet, so Hat Kid decided to use her top hat. Putting it on, she focused, and could see the location of the faucet in her mind. Smiling, she turned to her first officer and pointed toward the location of the faucet. She ran off, and Bow Kid ran after her.

The two stopped when they reached what looked like a dead end, but Hat Kid remembered the location of the faucet, and turned to her left. Her blood ran cold at the sight. The faucet was out in the middle of the ocean, and the only way to get to it was by jumping off of unstable platforms.

Knowing she couldn't let the residents of Mafia Town die to the lava, she calmed herself and jumped onto the first platform. Bow Kid was about to jump on after her, but saw the platform begin falling. Hat Kid jumped onto the next platform, and dove towards the next one.

However, she misjudged the gap between the two and barely caught the edge of the platform, and began trying to climb up as the platform began falling. She was barely able to clamber up onto the platform and jump off before it fell into the molten rock. She dove towards the next platform, but overcompensated for the fallen platform and almost rolled off the edge.

Getting up, she stopped herself from tipping forward into the sea of death and jumped towards the faucet, landing behind it. With a yell, she whacked it hard and it turned off.

After hearing rumbling, the two girls turned to the geyser in the middle, and sighed with relief as it started spewing water. Beaming with pride, Hat Kid made her way back to Bow Kid and made their way back to the building where they found the paranoid Mafia goon, but when they got there, no one was there.

Seeing that the steam cannon was opened, Hat Kid jumped into it, and Bow Kid jumped in after her. The two girls gasped when they saw all the (still living) Mafia there, cheering for them with tables of food, banners with 'Hat Kid' and 'Bow Kid' written on them, the Mafia Boss' chair, and golden statues of them filling the platform.

The paranoid mafia goon turned to them and smiled warmly. "You did it! Small children save Mafia Town!" He began speaking, overjoyed. "Now Mafia no longer need to eat lava for breakfast, amazing!" Hat Kid giggled. He pointed at a silver platter. "Please, take this as trophy," He continued, "You two are truly the heroes of Mafia Town!"

The other Mafia Goons began cheering louder, and Hat Kid beamed with pride as Bow Kid blushed. Hat Kid ran over to the silver platter, and opened it, and smiled even more when she saw a Time Piece fly out of it. She ran up to it and grabbed it happily.

Hat Kid motioned for Bow Kid to grab her hand, and she did so. As the two shot up into space, Hat Kid looked down and smiled at the planet. She thought this mission was going to be the worst mission of her life, and it ended up being one of the best things that had ever happened to her.

When the two reached the spaceship and crawled inside, Bow Kid collapsed to the floor with a moan. Hat Kid frowned. The heat had gotten to Bow Kid much more than it did to herself. She ran into the kitchen and got herself a glass of ice water and wetted a towel with cold water for Bow Kid.

She pried open the doors to their bedroom, put the glass of water down, then carried Bow Kid into the bedroom and gently laid her down in her bed. After seeing her crawl into the covers, she smiled and gently laid the damp towel on her forehead, then climbed down, sat down in her chair, picked up her water, and quietly drank it.


	8. Chapter 7: Relics and Vaults

Chapter 7: Relics and Vaults

Bow Kid stirred, and got up. She was confused as a damp towel fell onto her lap, and that she was laying in her bed and not on the floor, and she climbed out of her bed. Just then, she saw her captain asleep in her chair, an empty glass on the desk. It was then she realized just how thirsty she was.

She wasn't sure whether or not to wake up the sleeping Hat Kid, but a realization came to her mind. Her captain carried her into her bedroom and laid her in her bed, and got the damp towel for her. She had no idea why she would do that for her, but decided to wake her up.

Bow Kid gently nudged Hat Kid, and Hat Kid woke up with a grumble. She saw Bow Kid smiling at her, and was confused by the action.

"Uhh," Hat Kid began, "Can I help you?"

"I thought maybe you'd want to look for more Time Pieces," Bow Kid replied.

"Okay then," Hat Kid finished, "I did see a golden vault earlier, and wondered what was inside. Let's go."

"Can I get a glass of water first?" Bow Kid asked. Hat Kid nodded her head. After that, Bow Kid got herself a glass of water, drank it quickly, and the two jumped out of the hatch. They landed right next to the golden vault, and Hat Kid ran up to it, and used her hat to find the location of one of the tickets.

She motioned for Bow Kid to follow her, and jumped off the ledge toward a broken down house. After reaching the poor excuse of a shelter, the two girls became curious and looked through the house for collectables and information.

They didn't find anything, except an old broken picture frame with a torn picture inside of a young girl with amber eyes and blond hair wearing red clothing and a gold star medallion. Hat Kid realized who it is and motioned for Bow Kid to come look at it.

Judging by the state of the house, the picture frame, and Moustache Girl's intense hatred for the Mafia, the two guessed that the island used to be her home before the Mafia came, screwed up the place, and most likely killed/exiled everyone she knew and loved. Hat Kid felt some sympathy toward the misguided girl, but still didn't forgive her for her actions.

Getting back to the mission at hand, Hat Kid ran out to the balcony of the house, and admired the scenery, before accidentally knocking a Mafia Goon off of the edge. Her face went beet red and she pretended nothing happened as Bow Kid laughed at her.

Seeing the ticket, Hat Kid grabbed it, shouting "One!" as she did so. Next, she spotted a chest, and opened it, getting a strange object that looked like the top half of a hamburger. Seeing no other tickets around, she used her hat again to find the location of another ticket. She ran and jumped over a gap into the market district, and climbed on top of a greenhouse comically named "Bloomin' Idiots".

Jumping onto other buildings, she jumped onto a decorative rope and jumped toward the ticket, grabbed it, and shouted "Two!" as she did so. Bow Kid finally caught up to her, and saw her captain use her hat again. Seeing the look on her first officer's face, Hat Kid smiled at her and pointed toward the next ticket.

The two then jumped off the tightrope toward the ticket, landing on another building, then Hat Kid jumped toward a wall, kicked off of it onto another tightrope, and jumped toward the ticket, snatching it. Excitedly, she shouted "Three!". Seeing no other tickets around, Hat Kid used her hat again, seeing the final ticket on the side of a boat.

She smiled, and took off again, jumping on a tightrope, walking across it, and jumped onto an arch. Seeing the boat she saw in her mind, she dove off of the arch and landed on the side of the ship, and did a roll, propelling herself forward lightning fast.

She almost rolled off the side of the ship, but caught herself, and grabbed the final ticket. Happily, she yelled "All mine!". She then backtracked her way back to Bow Kid, and the two ran and jumped back to the vault.

Sticking the codes in, Hat Kid heard a clicking noise and the vault opened. The two girls were not expecting to see a Time Piece fly out, but Hat Kid grabbed it anyway. Hat Kid then proceeded to hold the Time Piece toward the sky, and Bow Kid grabbed her hand and the two shot back into the sky, and landed inside the spaceship.

Hat Kid ran over to the vault, and put the Time Piece back in. Just then, an alarm blared out, causing the two girls to jump.

**ALERT! INTRUDER DETECTED!**

The two girls turned to the hatch, and saw a cat with a chef's hat inside their ship. Confused, Hat Kid ran up to the cat, and gave her an an annoyed yet confused stare.

The cat smiled warmly at Hat Kid. She spoke with another foreign accent. "What a lovely spaceship you have here! Sorry about the breaking and entering, but I really wanted to see what an alien spaceship looked like." She said calmly, "You know, I expected aliens to be more green and probably with a thirst for flesh, but I guess you aliens come in all shapes and sizes, huh?" Hat Kid stared blankly at her. That sounded like something from a sci-fi movie.

The cat gave her another warm look. "Hey, if you're looking to explore our planet, you'll need to understand it first. Otherwise, you won't know if you're stepping in grass or quicksand!" She continued happily. Hat Kid put a hand to her chin thoughttfully. It was true that they could use some guidance around the planet. "Don't know how to identify relics? Fear not, Cooking Cat is here!" She spoke proudly.

The two were back in the pink tutorial room with the blackboard, and Bow Kid ran up to Hat Kid. She wanted to hear this as well. On the blackboard was a picture of the top burger half and a bottom half of a burger.

"I'll let you have this Burger Cushion for free!" Cooking Cat began warmly, then tossed Hat Kid a gift box with a bottom burger half in it. Cooking Cat then flipped the blackboard over to a picture of a podium with a strange relic on it. "You can identify this relic at the podium! If you place them on the podium in the correct order, you might be able to make sense of it," She continued, flipping the blackboard over again to a picture of a podium with a burger on it. "If you're able to identify a relic, something great might happen! You never know!" She finished, full of energy. "So keep an eye out for relics! I have taught you everything I know about relics!"

The three of them were back in the main hub of the spaceship, with two podiums in it. Hat Kid ran up to one of them, and it took 50 pons to activate. Hat Kid grinned, and put the burger cushion together in order, and then wrote a description of the item.

'Earthling Sitting Device' she wrote, 'Research has concluded that this thing is very soft to sit on. So soft, that the only logical conclusion is that these are the chairs of this planet. It is not a snack. I tried. It tastes like fabric.'

After finishing the writing, another alarm blared out through the ship, but it was a different alarm. Hearing it, Hat Kid ran up to the huge monitor, and tapped it, turning the alarm off. The monitor switched to a message.

**Warning. Time Rifts detected.**

Hat Kid, interested, tapped the screen again, smiling to see a blue Time Rift, but stopped smiling when she saw a purple rift appear as well. Bow Kid ran up to her, and also frowned at the sight. The monitor then switched to two pictures, one of a blue swirling orb in a collapsed tunnel, and a purple swirling orb at the beach with the cannon.

The two girls sprinted out of the hatch, and jumped out.


	9. Chapter 8: Mafia's Grand Voyage

Chapter 8: Mafia's Grand Voyage

The two girls landed, near the empty golden vault, and immediatly began sprinting and jumping toward the beach. After getting there, they spotted the purple Time Rift floating there, with some puzzled Mafia Goons looking up at it.

Not wanting to waste any time, Hat Kid bounced off of one goon's head, into the rift. Time froze, then rewound, and Hat Kid was gone. Bow Kid bounced off of another goon's head into the rift as well.

When the two girls arrived, they saw what looked like a rocky background with giant crystals dotting the landscape. Hat Kid was suprised to see a Mafia Goon standing near the Rift Gate ahead. He noticed the two girls, and spoke out to them.

"Hello, little children," He began softly, "This is Mafia time rift. Time Piece hit Mafia in head, and now time rift filled with Mafia thoughts and dreams." Hat Kid was suprised that Time Rifts could do that, but then again it was hard to study something you need to neutralize as soon as posisble. "This time rift is simple. Simple like Mafia, just how Mafia like it." He continued, "Rule of Time Rift, you need Rift Pons to go deeper. That is the only rule. Please tread carefully in Mafia time rift. Mafia like to experience past."

Hat Kid nodded to the nice Mafia goon, and decided to explore the small island. The rift wasn't wavering, so it was semi-stable for now. Climbing some buildings, she spotted a notebook page behind a pile of dead fish. She grabbed it, and the two jumped through the Rift Gate.

They landed on a small platform with some Rift Pons laying around, a rift gate with a 3 above it, and the Mafia ship from earlier off in the distance. They split up and ran after the different pons, collecting them with ease, until Hat Kid grabbed the last one by two piles of fish and saw another storybook page, and grabbed it.

Opening the gate, they jumped through and landed on another platform with the same ship off in the distance and some Mafia Goons walking around a giant pile of fish. Hat Kid was suprised to see the Mafia Goons notice them, meaning they were from the real world and not from the Rift.

Hat Kid waved at one of the goons and motioned for him to give her the rift pon, but he ignored her, so the two girls attacked him and knocked him unonscious, angering the other goons. After a short battle, all three goons were knocked out and they had more Rift Pons in hand.

Hat Kid then climbed a building to get to another Rift Pon, then jumped off the side of the building, grabbing another storybook page whilst doing so. Seeing more Rift Pons, she was about to jump over to some shipping containers but saw Bow Kid already there, grabbing the Pons.

Bow Kid then got curious and jumped between the fence and the shipping containers, and saw a storybook page, and grabbed it. They then met up by the rift gate and opened it, and jumped through.

They landed on the Mafia ship, and could barely keep themselves from rolling on the floor laughing when they saw Mafia Goons twirling like ballerinas. Then, Hat Kid noticed the same kind Mafia Goon from earlier and walked up to him.

"Has little girls noticed that unspent Rift Pons are kept each floor? No need to get every single pon." He began softly, "Good luck! Mafia has opened entrance to next floor for you!" Hat Kid smiled warmly at the Mafia Goon. Perhaps the Mafia weren't as bad as they seem. Hat Kid was about to jump through the Rift Gate, but stopped herself, wondering if there were more storybook pages here.

She climbed onto the back end of the ship and climbed to the top of it, and saw another storybook page. Smiling, she grabbed it, then dove off the ship into the Rift Gate, and Bow Kid followed suit.

Hat Kid frowned when she saw the platform they were on. There were Mafia Goons rolling on giant pieces of meat everywhere, and some had Rift Pons following behind them. Again, the two split up, and put on their Sprint Caps to run behind the Mafia Goons and get their Rift Pons.

Hat Kid saw the last rift pon on the platform, and excitedly ran up to it, but did not pay attention to her surroundings, and a Mafia Goon on a piece of meat collided into her, and Hat Kid was sent flying back a few meters. Luckily, the Mafia Goon was nice enough to stop and let Hat Kid limp out of the way.

Bow Kid ran up to Hat Kid, extremely concerned. She gave her captain a questioning look, but Hat Kid smiled at her to show her she was fine. The two then jumped onto a spring board, which sent them flying upward onto a tightrope. They walked across the tightrope onto another platform, and saw the Rift Gate on top of it.

They quickly opened the Gate and jumped in, and came to four platforms, with Mafia Goons standing around. Hat Kid quickly did a visual scan of the area to find the Rift Pons, but was rudely interrupted by a crumpled can to the face. A Mafia Goon threw a can at her. Irritated, she quickly ran around the platforms and knocked each Goon unconscious.

The two girls split up once again, and got each Rift Pon easily. They ran over to the final Rift Gate, which was on a wooden bridge, but Bow Kid decided to look down and see how far the Rift truly goes. She did not expect to see another Storybook Page sitting on a rock below the bridge, and jumped off the side of the bridge to try and grab it.

She landed on the rock easily, and grabbed the page, but when she tried jumping back onto the bridge, she hit her head on it and was sent plummeting into the infinite abyss below. Hat Kid shouted her name, and Bow Kid screamed, until she felt herself come to a stop and pain shoot throughout her whole body. She let out a cry of pain and opened her eyes, and found herself back on the bridge.

Hat Kid sprinted over to Bow Kid, who was shaking uncontrollably. She then guided her perturbed first officer over to the Rift Gate, and the two climbed inside. They came to a small circular platform, and saw the heart of the Rift sitting there. Hat Kid smiled. Bow Kid was confused.

"So... what do we do now?" Bow Kid asked.

"We destroy the heart of the Rift," Hat Kid replied, concerning Bow Kid.

"Sounds dangerous," Bow Kid muttered, and Hat Kid smiled at her.

"It isn't, it's just a bit bright and loud," Hat Kid responded, and Bow Kid huffed. Hat Kid then sprinted over to the heart and whacked it with her umbrella, cracking it and sending it flying backward. She then jumped into the air and collided into it, cracking it again, then stomped it, cracking it even more. After a final whack, the rift heart broke in half and exploded into a sphere of white light, and revealed a Time Piece.

Hat Kid then grabbed the Time Piece, and grabbed Bow Kid's hand. She then held the Time Piece out, and concentrated, and the two heard rumbling. The rift was collapsing now that its heart was destroyed. Hat Kid concentrated further and used the Time Piece to seal the rift and sew the Universe back together, and the two were back in the beach, with some unconscious Mafia Goons sprawled out through the beach.

The two then returned to their spaceship and Hat Kid put the Time Piece back into the vault, then grumbled and put her hands to her forehead, which concerned her first officer again.

"What's wrong?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Remember how I said that I use the Time Piece to sew space and time back together to seal a rift?" Hat Kid responded.

"Yeah, what about it?" Bow Kid inquired.

"I said that doing that gives me a headache with just a normal blue rift, and I just sealed an unstable purple rift." Hat Kid answered, "I feel like I was just rammed into by a spaceship."

"So I guess we should probably leave the last rift for later," Bow Kid suggested, and Hat Kid nodded her head.

"Yes," Hat Kid agreed, "Besides, I think I found another place we should look for Time Pieces." However, before they went to this new area, they decided they should rest up. Both girls were tired and hurt by their excursion into the Rift, and they wouldn't be able to fight baddies and move around if they were exhausted and injured.

However, before they went to sleep, they wanted to see what the storybook pages they found created. Hat Kid took out the pages and turned them into a book, titled "Mafia's Grand Voyage."

Hat Kid turned to the first page, which was a picture of a dreary loading bay with a picture of a happy Mafia Boss with a fish on the building, with Mafia Goons everywhere. Turning to the next page, they saw a miserable Mafia Boss dreaming about a paradise where they could have fun and relax. The next page showed some Mafia on a boat with the Mafia Boss, waving goodbye to their women who strangely looked similar to them. The following page had a picture of the Mafia having fun and relaxing on their boat, followed by a picture of their boat finding a better looking Mafia Town, and the final page showed the Mafia Boss planting down a flag that said "Mafia Town #1", with the geyser erupting and Mafia Goons running amok.

The girls then understood why the Mafia do what they do, but that still didn't give them the right to screw with normal peoples' lives. Hat Kid then felt her eyelids droop, and knew she was getting sleepy.

So, the girls pried the doors open to their powered down bedroom, jumped into their beds, and went to sleep. They were going to need rest before drama to come.


	10. Chapter 9: Infiltration

Chapter 9: Infiltration

**A/N: Yes, two chapters in one day again. I assure you, it won't be so common once the week is over. However, I hated writing about the Mafia Of Cooks time rift and I didn't want to end the day feeling annoyed about my writing so I decided to go ahead and start Battle Of The Birds, as I was looking forward to it. So, enjoy as Hat Kid and Bow Kid get swept up into a rivalry between a peck neck and a darling.**

Hat Kid woke up and jumped out of her bed. She was full of energy, and saw Bow Kid still sleeping peacefully. Then, a mischevious thought came to her mind, and she grabbed her pillow, then stealthily climbed up onto her first officer's bunk, and whacked her with the pillow, then jumped off and pried open the doors and ran into the main hub, then hid behind a barrel.

"HEY!" Bow Kid shouted angrily. Hat Kid was just barely able to keep herself from laughing, and Bow Kid ran into the main hub, and looked around for her captain. She wandered around for five minutes looking for her, until she looked over a barrel and saw her sitting there.

"Good morning!" Hat Kid said joyfully, jumping up, and Bow Kid huffed. "What?" Hat Kid asked mischeviously, "I was getting payback for when you pranked me in the Mafia base!"

Bow Kid stared at her, then sighed. "Okay then, I guess we're even now." She said weakly. Hat Kid ran into the kitchen to grab something to eat, and was suprised to see Cooking Cat there. After Cooking Cat quickly explained that she wanted to make a welcome meal for the two girls, and asking them if they preferred steak or salad, the two girls waved goodbye and ran over to the door to the Machine Room.

Hat Kid tapped a monitor, and power was restored to the room. Doing a little jig, she dove into the door, which opened, and slid down into the room. They ran up to a telescope, and Hat Kid looked through it and peered down into the desert with train tracks on it, seeing a building with a large parking lot next to the tracks.

She motioned for Bow Kid to look through the telescope, and pointed down at the telescope.

"That's where we're going next." She stated. The two girls then ran out of the room and over to the hatch, and jumped down to the desert below.

They landed in the parking lot of the building, with large letters and a symbol on it saying "Dead Bird Studio" and ran inside, but stopped when they saw an angry bird... raptor... thing and a calm, groovy looking penguin arguing.

"This movie studio is too big enough for the both of us, DJ Grooves!" The 'bird' shouted angrily in a foreign accent, showing just how much he hated the penguin. "The movie should be made by REAL birds!" Hat Kid thought of how ironic that statement was. The bird continued. "You Moon Penguins are just gonna write some **LOUD, NOISY DRIVEL**! If I wanted a bunch of peck necks to dance around while on birdseed, heh, I'd visit me grandchildren!"

The penguin, who they guessed was named DJ Grooves, was unfazed. "Nonsense, darling, nonsense!" He replied calmly. "You Owl Express birds are just gonna record another_ boring_ train related western. You've done so for the last _ten years_, darling!"

The owl express bird seemed shocked. "Wha-? No we haven't ye buffoon!" He shouted angrily.

"Conductor, darling, this year we'll be winning the annual bird movie award, as our new props will bring in the audiences!" He smoothly stated, and Hat Kid and Bow Kid gasped when they saw the 'props' were Time Pieces. "These shiny things fell from the sky! They will light our movie sets and fill them with glimmer!" He seemed proud of himself.

"Oh yeah?" The Conductor replied smugly. "Well, this time around, we're **also **spicin' it up with our newest movie props!" The two girls were not pleased to see that the Conductor also had some Time Pieces. "These hourglass thingies will be the grand jewel in our train heist western!" He shouted confidently.

The two birds were quiet as they realized what was happening. The Conductor was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak up about it. "WHADDA WHAT?" He began, furious. "You no-good dirty _**peck necks!**_ You copied our props!"

DJ Grooves also seemed a little angry, but became passive-aggressive, instead of just, well, aggressive. "I would NEVER, darling! Clearly _you're _the one that took inspiration in my flashy new props!"

The Conductor became even more enraged at the accusation. "Ohh that does it! Get outta here with yer, I've got a movie to record!" He yelled, voice full of venom.

DJ Grooves gladly did so as he walked over to the giant double doors on his side of the room. "Fine by me, darling, but we'll be the ones who win the annual bird movie award, **mark my word!**" He replied angrily, then opened the doors and sashayed through them, with the props following him.

The Conductor grinned evilly. "Oh yeah?" He began mischeviously, "Let's see how well you do when you can't get into the reception!" He then laughed maniacally as he boarded up the doors, then realized the mistake he made. "Oh wait, uh, shutting the peck necks inside the studio will force them to work harder." He said uncomfortably, then walked over to his side of the studio. "Alright, time to go owls, let's make our KILLER movie!" He then walked over to the double doors, but stopped and looked at the receptionist. "Oh, and, receptionist, can you _please_ close off that vent already? I don't want the smell of penguin to come anywhere near my crew!" The receptionist nodded, and the Conductor walked through the double doors and some owls followed him.

Hat Kid groaned. Now they were going to have to sneak throughout this strange studio and get their Time Pieces back without ever being seen, or they'll be in huge trouble. Wondering if there was another way, she walked up to the receptionist, who noticed her immediately.

"Oh, hey little chirper!" He began happily, "They're recording right now, so no one is allowed in!" Hat Kid frowned, disappointed. "We're only insured for bird staff. Letting you in would be a liability. Don't even _think_ about sneaking inside." Hat Kid rolled her eyes, which did not please the receptionist. "Young lady, if I catch you inside the studio you'll recieve a ticket_ so big_ you'll be in debt for** years!**" He hissed angrily, causing Hat Kid to take a step back, alarmed.

Bow Kid then ran up to her and gave the receptionist a nasty look, who just ignored it. The girls, curious, turned to a machine with shades in it, and Hat Kidcranked the lever on it, who was then given a pair of sunglasses. She then jumped excitedly about it, and Bow Kid cranked the lever again, getting a pair of shades for herself. Curious, Hat Kid cranked the lever again, but accidentally tripped over Bow Kid's foot and plowed into the machine, destroying it.

The receptionist was not pleased. "Young ladies, you just commited destruction of property, thats a 3,000 pon fine!" He yelled. Hat Kid's eyes widened, and Bow Kid panicked. They did not have that kind of money, and they shivered thinking about how much money it would cost if they disrupted studio recordings. The receptionist was about to walk towards them and boot them out of the studio, but the girls saw this and climbed up a trophy case, onto a screen, over to the vent, then took it off the wall and climbed through.

"Hey!" The receptionist yelled, furious. "Trespassing, that's a 7,000 pon fine! Get back here right now!" The girls ignored him and landed on a platform, then saw the Moon Penguins carrying the case of Time Pieces on some device and flick a lever, causing them to go over to the other side of the studio.

"Come on!" Hat Kid whispered to Bow Kid, then stuck her fingers up in a finger gun, and Bow Kid did the same. After jumping up, avoiding a Moon Penguin on the phone, evading some cameras, and sneaking by the DJ, who was recording who-knows-what, and walked onto the device and flicked the lever, going over to the other side of the studio.

The two girls were amused to see The Conductor freaking out at his actors, then wondered how they were going to get by them, but saw a pipe they could run across, and did so. Hat Kid then jumped up onto a platform, and Bow Kid jumped up before Hat Kid could move out of the way and bumped her into a piece of lighting equipment, sending it crashing to the abyss below. Destruction of property, that's another 1,000 pons. The duo then jumped up, snuck by an Express Owl, then walked inside a saloon-type building with a cactus blocking their way.

Hat Kid whacked the cactus with the umbrella, knocking it over. The two girls proceeded inside the building, jumped over some owls, then jumped up the side of the building, and Hat Kid grabbed a new ball of yarn. Excitedly, she created a new hat, a blue toque with a snowflake on it, and gave Bow Kid a replica of it. After that, Hat Kid whacked a lever, causing another device to slide by them. Hat Kid then waited for the owl guarding the lever to turn around again, then whacked the lever again, and the two girls jumped onto the device, just barely missing the gaze of the owl, who chirped out in alarm, but saw nothing and went back to his routine.

Arriving at another platform, they saw DJ Grooves recording another strange movie, and snuck by a Moon Penguin. They then jumped on some sandbags to get over to another platform, and barely caught the attention of a moon penguin, who shouted out in suprise, but saw nothing and pawned it off as his eyes playing tricks on him.

The girls then jumped on some more sandbags and arrived at Conductor's side of the studio again, and saw him freaking out at a recording of two sides throwing an ungodly amount of fake projectiles at eachother. They then jumped down to another platform, saw an owl guarding another lever, waited for him to turn his back to it, and Hat Kid ran up to the lever and whacked it, then hid behind some tipi props. After the owl turned his back again to the lever, Bow Kid whacked it and the two jumped on the device that arrived there, going back to Grooves' side of the studio.

After jumping on another platform, they climbed up some giant stereos and jumped onto another platform guarded by Moon Penguins and cameras, and saw no way to go. Bow Kid then saw a spark, and turned to an electrical box. She whispered a plan to Hat Kid, who nodded her head in agreement, and Bow Kid turned off the electricity and they ran as fast as they could before the power turned back on.

Both directors were annoyed by the sudden power loss, and the receptionist realized it was most likely the two girls tampering with electronics, then summoned some security guards and ran into the studio.

After turning off the power again, they made it to the other side of the cameras and penguins and continued their infiltration, hopping on another device and flipping the lever. The device began moving very slowly, and they passed by DJ Grooves recording inside a room and the Conductor recording inside another room, and used their new Ice Hats to turn into ice statues, fooling the owls and penguins into thinking they were new props.

When they stopped at another platform, they jumped off the device and knocked over a large tipi prop, giving them a makeshift bridge over to another platform. They then jumped up, evaded some owls, and walked under a UFO prop (well, at least they thought it was a prop)

They came to a larger platform with a wall, with two entrances and exits beside the wall guarded by two Express Owls. Hoping it would work, Hat Kid wall jumped off of the wall, and climbed over it, and Bow Kid followed suit. They saw another platform with a narrow twisting hallway with a Moon Penguin walking from one end of the hallway to the other, and waited for him to walk away, then jumped up into a small hole in the wall and let him pass by. After he walked by them, they jumped down and ran out of the hallway.

The duo then jumped off of some sandbags and landed on a red carpet. Excited, Hat Kid ran across the red carpet, and Bow Kid ran after her. Both girls stopped when they saw DJ Grooves marveling over a large trophy.

"Magnificent! Stunning! This trophy is everything I desire, on the shelf in my living room!" He rambled, full of awe. "Of course, this big trophy is just a plastic replica. The actual trophy is really tiny." Hat Kid slowly took a step back, but the floor creaked under her, and the DJ turned around, suprised.

"Oh my, Oh my! What is this I see?" He began joyfully, "Is it true inner beauty? An innocent soul soul with a heart of gold?" Hat Kid stepped back, uncomfortable and suprised about what the DJ just said, and Bow Kid failed to repress her laughter. She'd never seen her captain so uncomfortable before.

The DJ then noticed he was just looking at a little girl. "Oh, no. It's just a little girl. Hello!" He stated warmly. "Oh wait, you're not a penguin-" He was going to keep speaking, but was cut off by a shout.

"Hold it right there!" A familiar voice yelled. It was the receptionist. He ran up to the trio and got his security guards to try to pick up the two girls, who retaliated and stood back to back with their umbrellas out, swinging at them. The receptionist turned to a shocked DJ. "Apologies for the interruption, DJ, but these two brats snuck inside the studio, destroyed property, tampered with electronics, and harrassed employees. Allow us to take them away." He said calmly. Then, the two girls yelped as the security guards managed to pick them up, and they squirmed and tried getting out, but it was futile.

The DJ was not liking how they were treating two little girls, and put a plan into action. "Receptionist, darling, no need for you to stress yourself with these two troublemakers." He responded, amused. "I'll deal with them **personally.**" Hat Kid's eyes widened as she heard his tone of voice. What was he going to do?

The receptionist was completely suprised. "Grooves, are you sure? It's my job to deal with intruders, you have recording to do!" He asked uncomfortably.

"Relax, darling. I'm on my break anyways." DJ Grooves replied smoothly. The receptionist huffed.

"Okay, but if they get out of hand, just call us and we'll be here immediately." The receptionist said, giving up. He then remembered one thing, and turned back to Grooves. "Oh, and here is their bill." He continued, handing the penguin a piece of paper.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid were released, and the penguin turned to them. "Sorry about that, darlings, judging by how you two act I find it hard to believe you caused all that mayhem on purpose." He said apologetically. Hat Kid then took the bill, and her heart dropped when she saw the amount on it.

"22,000 pons" She said drearily. The DJ then turned to a more business-like tone.

"Here's the biz, I need your help. I'm on a _terrible_ losing streak, and I just **have **to win this next annual bird movie award." He began sadly, then became excited. "Seeing the way you two defended eachother, there's no doubt; I absolutely _**MUST**_ have you two as the stars! Here, let me take care of this..." He then grabbed the bill from Hat Kid's hands and tore it in two. Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear in joy, and Bow Kid just sighed in relief.

The penguin then jumped behind some photo stand. "We need to give you bird passports, darlings!" He stated happily, then looked at Bow Kid. "Step right over here." She then did so, and DJ Grooves then told her: "The most important part of a passport is the picture, darling!You have to look_ flashy_ and _stunning_!" Hearing this, Bow Kid then adjusted her bow and shades, then smiled warmly as DJ Grooves took the picture, and checked to make sure the picture went well, then turned to Hat Kid. "Okay, now your turn, darling!" He said as he looked at Hat Kid. Seeing the energy of the girl, he then said; "Okay, put on a smile, and stand still please! Don't move!" Hat Kid then put on her signature top hat, adjusted her shades, and gave Grooves the biggest smile of her life, but the picture wasn't taken, as Grooves was having technical difficulties.

Bow Kid ran up to him and helped him, and he took the picture just as Hat Kid stopped smiling.

"Let's see how the picture turned out..." He rambled as the picture came out, and he cringed. "Wh-wha?!" He then turned to Hat Kid and gave her a disappointed glare. "Darling, you're not very photogenic, huh?" Hat Kid stepped back, hurt, and his expression softened. "Oh, sorry darling, that was rather rude, huh?", DJ Grooves said apologetically, then became excited again. "We've got to fix this **ugly mugshot** up with some old-fashioned photo doctoring! Here, take these markers and turn yourself into the most stylish, fashionable young lady!"

After some drawing, Hat Kid gave the penguin her doctored photo, and he grabbed two passports. "Perfect!" DJ Grooves shouted happily. "Let's slide these into your passports, and here you go! Two passports for you!" He gave the two girls their passports, and they smiled happily. DJ Grooves was over the moon (pun intended). "Wonderful, darlings, just wonderful! Meet me at the movie set tomorrow, and we'll make you two into stars!" He then jumped out from behind the stand and sashayed off.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid could barely contain their excitement. Now they can mess around the studio without being bothered, and they were going to become movie stars! What could be better for their current situation? However, they were interrupted from their thoughts when a certain yellow bird ran out from behind the giant trophy and pointed aggressively at the two girls.

"HEY! WATCHA THINK YER DOIN'?" The Conductor shouted, startling both girls and causing Bow Kid to jump. He then ran up to Hat Kid, and he seemed **mad.** "Ohh, ye can't just jump in and fiddle with the annual bird movie awards! That's frauud! FRAUUUUUUUUUD! HEY EVERYONE! WE'VE GOT SOME FRAUDSTERS OVER HERE!" He shouted angrily. He grumbled as no one showed up, and Hat Kid smirked at him. "Where are my owl guards at?! Why are the owls so darn useless?" Hat Kid giggled, and the Conductor grumbled again. "Alright, listen here lass! The both of ye are in big trouble! If you're helping crooked **DJ Grooves** win the awards, and I can't take ye to jail, then ye gotta help me even the score!" He shouted confidently.

Hat Kid's eyes widened, and Bow Kid looked concerned. "That's right, the two of ye have gotta be the star of MY movies, too!" He stated smugly. "Here, take our newest prop, practice showing it off, and bring it to my movie set tomorrow. Ye got that? **Don't be late!**" He then handed Hat Kid a Time Piece, who took it gladly and did a pose with it, which satisfied the Conductor, who calmly walked off back behind the trophy.

The two then made their way back to the parking lot of Dead Bird Studio, apologized to an annoyed receptionist, and went back to the spaceship. They needed to get ready before their first big day of shooting.


	11. Chapter 10: Divas

Chapter 10: Divas

Hat Kid walked out of the Machine Room, and went into the kitchen, where Bow Kid was already waiting. They had gotten ready for the day's events and were going to have something to eat before leaving.

After a quick meal with no words spoken, the two jumped out of the hatch and landed near Dead Bird Studio, and walked inside. After talking to the receptionist, a penguin walked out of the giant double doors and walked over to them, but it wasn't DJ Grooves. It was an ordinary Moon Penguin.

"Uhh," Hat Kid began, confused. "Weren't we supposed to meet Grooves here?"

"Yeah, about that..." The penguin began, slightly uncomfortable. "The boss forgot to mention to you gals that the movie set is on the moon, not here."

Bow Kid stepped back in suprise. How were they going to get to the moon? Hat Kid walked out of the double doors and motioned for Bow Kid to follow her, and they returned to the ship, then Hat Kid piloted the ship so it was orbiting the moon, and they jumped out again.

Bow Kid was suprised to find a breathable amount of air on the moon, but then again, recording a movie on the moon would be too dangerous without air. They landed on a platform near Grooves and some Moon Penguins, doing a pose when they landed, and DJ Grooves smiled. He wasn't expecting such a grand entrance.

"Welcome to the first day of shooting, darlings!" He began happily, "We need to transform you two into the biggest movie stars the bird world has ever seen!" Hat Kid gave him a confused glance. What did he mean? "You need to become... **divas!**" He continued joyfully. "That's why I've called for a press conference here on our moon set. You need to get out there and _electrify _the public, darlings! Get 'em really up and going for your movies!" Hat Kid was jumping up and down in excitement, and Bow Kid stared off into the distance.

Seeing the girls' reactions, the penguin smiled further. "Once you've got them going crazy, come back here and we'll show off our new prop!" He ordered confidently, "That's right, we'll unveil our new movie prop to the masses!" He then remembered something and turned back to Hat Kid. "Oh, and, if you see any tokens that look like me, be sure to collect them, and I'll pop on in for a quick endorsement. You got that, darling?" He quickly finished, and Hat Kid nodded her head. "Alrighty then, knock 'em dead!"

Stunned, Hat Kid jumped off of the small stage and the penguins turned to her. Shyly, she let out a small "Oh, hi there!" and smiled nervously, scratching her head. The penguins gave her reassuring smiles, and Hat Kid motioned for Bow Kid to follow her. The girls unknowingly walked in front of a penguin with a camera, who took their picture with a blinding flash, causing the two girls to flinch.

"Thanks!" The penguin said happily. Hat Kid waved to the penguin, and turned away from him, and then saw one of the tokens Grooves talked about earlier. She ran up to it and grabbed it, then heard a familiar voice.

"You called, darling?" He asked smoothly, "Looks like it's endorsement time!" Then, a penguin camera crew showed up and DJ Grooves jumped down beside the two girls. "All you penguins know my name... DJ Grooves! And I'm telling you, these young girls here are the next hot thing! Guaranteed!" He then pointed up at the fountain next to them and the cameras turned to a wooden cutout of a dog stuck on top of it.

"Just look, as they'll climb up this statue and rescue the _poor puppy _that has gotten stuck!" He said, adding a faked bit of sadness into his voice, then turned back to Hat Kid. "Right, darling?"

The two girls then helped eachother climb the statue, but when Hat Kid reached the top, she slipped a bit and plowed into the wooden cutout, sending it falling to the floor, shattering into bits. DJ Grooves seemed a bit disappointed, but pushed it down. "Look at that! They helped the puppy down, safe and sound! Too bad it ran off and definitely didn't break into multiple pieces." He shouted loudly, grabbing the attention of everyone nearby. "These are truly divas I can get behind! Let it be known that these lil' girls are all about animals! Make sure you join their fanclub! DJ Grooves, OUT!"

The camera crews then turned off their cameras and the two girls jumped off the fountain. After talking to a few more penguins, they saw another penguin holding a camera, then Hat Kid grabbed Bow Kid's hand, but Bow Kid tried stepping away.

"Come on," Hat Kid whispered to her first officer. "The crowds will love it if we work together and get along. I know it."

"Yeah, but still..." Bow Kid replied uncertainly. Hat Kid then turned to her and took her hands in her own.

"Trust me," Hat Kid said, "Trust me as your captain and as your friend." Hearing this, Bow Kid turned to her and nodded her head confidently. The two girls then grabbed eachother's hand and dove in front of the penguin with the camera, who took their photo.

"Wow!", is all he had to say. After the photo, the girls saw another DJ Grooves token next to a big fish on a table, and they ran up to it and grabbed it.

"You called, darlings?" The groovy penguin asked calmly. "Looks like it's endorsement time!" He jumped near them and landed next to them beside the fish, but the camera crews didn't begin recording yet.

"Now, darlings, I have to mention this. Cooking show hosts have a terrible track record of getting frustrated and swearing on screen. Try not to say the P word. Don't say... P-E-C-K." He began sternly. "The Conductor is... old fashioned. He throws that word around a _lot._ It'll get it in trouble some day, but for now, let's keep our show clean."

He then turned to the cameras, and the two girls did the same. "Hello viewers! Even the biggest celebrities have to eat, and I've got with me the biggest celebrities of them all!" The penguin said happily, then turned to Hat Kid. "Now, darling, what condiment do you like on your tuna sandwiches?" Bow Kid then gave Hat Kid a disapproving look, knowing exactly what she was going to say, but Hat Kid ignored her and waited a long time.

Suddenly, she shouted "**PECK!**" Someone in the camera crew took a picture, and the DJ looked mortified.

"_**DARLING!**_" He shouted suddenly, and Hat Kid began snickering, and Bow Kid pretended to be disappointed but grinned from ear to ear. "I-I mean... Fellow viewers! Look at the _mouth_ on this young girl!" He quickly stated awkwardly. The two girls had never seen the DJ so flustered, and both girls broke down and began rolling on the floor laughing. "She's really something." The DJ continued, barely able to keep his own laughter within.

The DJ then thought of something, and turned to the two girls. "Now shoo! Get out of this endorsement as soon as you can, before the old penguins watching TV noticed what just happened!" He whispered frantically to the two girls, and they got up and ran off, still laughing.

After talking to more penguins and an endorsement in some strange alleyway, the girls' fanclub was so large they were officially divas. DJ Grooves then jumped back on the stage and spoke through his microphone. "The audience is going _crazy_, darlings! Come over here and show off our new stunner... our new prop!"

The two girls quickly ran back to the stage, and the DJ threw the Time Piece up in the air. Running towards it, Bow Kid got on one knee and motioned for Hat Kid to jump onto her. Confused, but not questioning it, Hat Kid did so, and Bow Kid stood up rapidly, flinging Hat Kid high into the air, who caught it and did a celebratory pose.

Landing on the ground, Hat Kid smiled and the two girls walked up to DJ Grooves, who smiled at them.

"You did amazing, darlings!" He stated proudly, "The audience has never been so enchanted by anyone in all of annual bird movie award history!" Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear, and Bow Kid blushed slightly. "Now, I don't know where you two are living, but you should probably get back there pretty soon. Your parents are probably worried sick about you!" He finished happily.

Hearing this, the grin was wiped right off of Hat Kid's face, and tears gathered in Bow Kid's eyes. The DJ was confused. "Wait, wha-?" He continued, but was interrupted when Bow Kid began crying. Hat Kid then hugged her, who hugged Hat Kid back, and Hat Kid turned to a very confused DJ.

"W-we don't have parents." Hat Kid stated bleakly, confusing an already confused DJ Grooves. Hat Kid continued. "She's an orphan, and my parents-" Tears gathered in Hat Kid's eyes, but she remembered something her teacher told her and blinked the tears away, then became enraged. "I'll just put it this way. My parents are worthless pieces of trash, pathetic excuses for people and I don't even know if they're living or dead." She hissed, voice full of hatred.

"I-I'm sorry, darlings... I-I didn't know..." DJ Grooves replied apologetically, then thought of something. "Wait a minute, darling. You two fine lil' girls aren't sisters?" Hat Kid smiled, and Bow Kid giggled.

"Not really," Hat Kid answered, but all the DJ really cared about was that the two girls were happy again. It felt... wrong, to see them sad. Hat Kid checked the time of day, then her eyes widened. "We need to get going, we have to be on the Owl Express really soon."

The DJ raised his starred shades and gave them a questioning look. "Why on _earth_ would you want to the Conductor's tawdry excuse of a train?" He asked concerningly, then Hat Kid gave him a guilty smile.

"He's kind of forcing us to be the stars of his movies too." She resonded guiltily. The DJ cursed under his breath. Of course that pathetic excuse of a bird would use HIS stars in his boring movies. "Well, good luck, then, darlings!" He joyfully said, and Hat Kid smiled warmly at him before the two waved goodbye to him and went to an abandoned alleyway before taking off into the sky.

_Later, at the movie premiere..._

The Conductor watched the movie from behind, furious. After watching the credits, and seeing the results were in at 596 points, he muttered something quietly to the penguin.

"So ye think recording some boring, flashy movie about two girls running around gaining attention is gonna win you the award, eh?" He began mockingly. "Ye underestimate me power in this studio, DJ Peck Neck. Just yer wait and see mine, it'll be one **killer** movie!" He chuckled evilly at his pun, then walked out of the theater.


	12. Chapter 11: Meurrderr

Chapter 11: How (Not) To Get Away with Meuurrderr

**A/N: I've been doing some thinking about what I want to do with Hat Kid's backstory, and an idea came into my head. I have a pretty detailed idea of her backstory, so detailed, in fact, that if I wanted to, I could write a prequel for this story and have it be the events leading up to the story. Let me know what you think and if I get enough encouragement, I'll write a prequel for Hat Kid after I'm done this story. But, enough about that, enjoy the chapter!**

They landed at the caboose of the train, where a calm Conductor was waiting for them with a pocket watch. He noticed the two girls and smiled at them. He then turned to Hat Kid.

"Welcome back, lassie! I haven't written the script for me next movie yet, so we're not recordin'." He calmly stated, and Hat Kid took a step back in suprise. She was expecting him to yell at them for being late and be miserable, but being on his train seemed to make him calm and happy. "I'll call for the two of ye when the script is ready."

The two girls then went inside the train and were immediately stopped by a sketchy looking crow.

"Why, hello there, fellow owl. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting." He began suspiciously, "As you can tell, I am also an express owl. I do much hooting." Hat Kid gave him a glare of disbelief, but he seemed unfazed. "From one owl to another, we can share details, yes? What is your uncle's sister's maiden name?" He asked even more suspiciously. Hat Kid took a step back. So, she steps inside a train and she's immediately stopped by some sketchy looking dude who asked her for personal information for seemingly no reason at all.

Not knowing her uncle's sister or wanting to tell the truth, she said "Mary." The crow seemed pleased with himself.

"Oh, it is Mary? I see, I see. This is the kind of uncle's sister's maiden name I would expect from a fellow Express Owl." He responded strangely, then walked away.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid turned to eachother.

"I don't like this," Bow Kid confessed to her captain.

"Me neither," Hat Kid replied. "Let's talk to as little crows as possible." The duo then walked over to an actual Express Owl, hoping to find some answers about the strange crows.

"Did you notice that there's suddenly a lot of crows on this train?" He asked uncomfortably. "They all got on at the last stop." He then got curious about the two girls. "Speaking of which, at which stop did you two get on the train?" He asked curiously.

"We, uh, fell from the sky." Hat Kid answered shyly.

"What do you mean you 'fell from the sky'?" He replied, completely confused. Hat Kid just ignored him and the two walked over to the door to the next train car, but were stopped by another crow.

"Did you know that having a pet helps improve self confidence and relieves stress?" He asked intrusively. Hat Kid put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. She never had any pets, but having their rumbi around was kind of similar to that. The crow continued. "Did you also know that pets can have pets? It is true!" Hat Kid snickered at the idea of their rumbi having a pet, especially a smaller rumbi. "Unfortunately, us Express Owls are not allowed to have pets. It is a sacrifice we must make in the name of hooting." The crow stated sadly. "But, if you had a pet, what do you think the name of your pet's childhood pet would be?"

Hat Kid had no idea what to respond, so she just responded with "Rumbi." The crow seemed to buy it.

"Rumbi is certainly an interesting name for a pet. Even for a pet's pet." He replied, then let them pass into the next train car. Immediately, they were spotted by another crow, who walked toward them, but they evaded the crow and talked to an owl, who seemed extremely nervous.

"Have you noticed all these crows around the place? They keep asking for personal details, and I never know what to answer!" He said nervously. Clearly the only people on the train who weren't on edge were the Conductor and the crows.

"Just say whatever comes into your mind," Hat Kid advised the owl, who nodded nervously. After evading the crow again, they came to two doors, one blocked by a crow. Hoping they could get him to move out of the way, the two girls ran up to him.

"Fellow Express Owl, do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a superhero?" He asked suspiciously. Hat Kid smiled. She was kind of like a superhero. "The most important feature of a superhero is the name. Every superhero needs an intricate name to their fame." It was true, what is a good superhero without a good name? "If you were a superhero, what would your name be, if entered in an online form with standardized account identification requirements?"

Hat Kid gave a good amount of thought to this. How much harm could telling someone your preferred superhero name cause? "Timekeeper!" She replied happily. The crow seemed amazed."

"That name is great! I can already imagine it: the mighty Timekeeper, saviour of justice!" The crow stated excitedly. "I'll just write your answer down here, real quick." However, the crow did not seem like he was going to move anytime soon, so the two girls moved on to the next train car.

They were suprised by the sight, there were tons of crows sitting at the tables, laughing at 'jokes' that didn't make any sense to them. They proceeded forward, but the door ahead was locked, so they went back and went up some stairs, but were confronted by another crow.

"Us Express Owls all have a part of our body we're ashamed of. This is why some owls choose to pluck their feathers." The crow stated intrusively. "Which body part of yours are you the most ashamed of, fellow Express Owl?" Hat Kid took a step back, completely alarmed, and Bow Kid tried grabbing the crow's attention, but failed.

Hat Kid tried looking for a way out of the situation, but saw none. She sighed, spent some time thinking of a reasonable lie to tell: "Nose." The crow seemed sympathetic.

"Oh, poor Express Owl, you shouldn't be ashamed of your nose! But you'd better get your nose checked out by a doctor. I read online it could be a sign of bird flu." He advised sympathetically, and Hat Kid was offended. What would they know about noses anyway?

Walking by the owl, they climbed up a ladder, and Hat Kid saw a blue wooden spring-loaded platform and used her ice hat on it, sending her flying onto another platform with a Conductor token on it. She grabbed it and sprung back, and the two went into a room on the higher level.

When they walked into the room, they saw a key suspiciously laid out in the middle of the room, like someone had intended for it to be found. Hat Kid grabbed it warily, and talked to a panicked Express Owl blocking the way to the rest of the room.

"Wait! Don't come in here! I lost my contact lens somewhere, please don't step on it! I can't move out of the way, I might step on it myself!" He shouted, panicked. Hearing this, the two girls went back into the other room and unlocked the door, then walked inside.

They could tell they were at the front of the train, there were the train controls and everything, and a gift box laid in the middle of the room suspiciously. Hat Kid walked up to it and read the tag on it.

'For the little girls with the big top hat and bow' It read. Hat Kid motioned for Bow Kid to read it, and after doing so, she gave her captain a concerned look. It felt like it was a trap, or like something really bad was going to happen, but their curiosity got the better of them and they opened the box, revealing matching detective outfits and hats for Hat Kid and Bow Kid. Excitedly, the girls took it, but were interrupted from their excitement by a very... unnerving phone ring.

The two girls waited for someone to pick up the phone, but no one came, so Hat Kid picked it up.

"Who is this?" Hat Kid asked, and was alarmed by the sketchy voice on the other side.

"Is this the kid with the hat?" The voice inquired.

"Uh, yes, why?" Hat Kid responded, and motioned for Bow Kid to listen in.

"I hope you two like my presents," The mysterious voice replied, then laughed evilly. "Go to the back of the train. Your uncle's sister Mary has come to visit you." Hat Kid wasn't buying it, as she didn't know anyone from her real family. The voice then seemed annoyed.

"You'd better show your fam' some love, or I'll be **talking to a corpse** next time." He finished, then hung up, leaving Hat Kid to a monotone busy ringtone. Bow Kid nearly had a panic attack after hearing this.

"T-talking to a corpse? What does that mean?" She asked no one in particular, but Hat Kid put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll find out what's behind all this." She replied reassuringly. "But for now, let's go to the back of the train and find out just who's come to see us." Bow Kid then calmed down and nodded, and the two ran back to the back of the train, and Bow Kid opened the door, and screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight.

A wood cutout of an old lady was standing over a dead Express Owl with a knife in his back and blood everywhere. Hat Kid then got between Bow Kid and the scene, and began comforting her.

"It's okay, Bow. Just keep breathing, and focus on me." She calmly told her distressed first officer, who was slowly calming down. Then, the Conductor came in from the back of the train.

"Lassie? What's wrong? I heard ye scream-" He began, but stopped himself when he saw the scene.

"A-a-a-a-a **MYERRDER?! **On **MY** Owl Express?!" He shouted, clearly panicked by the sight. People then began piling into the train car, hearing the Conductor's outcry. "I can't believe someone would murder one of the Express Owls! And I can't believe even more that its yer uncle's sister Mary!" He shouted nervously. Hat Kid then gave him a disappointed frown. He then turned to the wood cutout. "What do ye have to say fer yerself, Mary?" Unsuprisingly, there was no response. "Oh, yer givin' me the quiet treatment, eh? That's what a _**MEURRRRDERRERR**_ would do!" Hat Kid could not believe what she was seeing and hearing.

"It's a wooden cutout, not a person." She quietly stated, annoyed. The Conductor seemed to ignore her. Then, a familiar suspicious voice rang out throughout the train car.

"Leave this case to us." A crow said, as they all piled into the car. "We're C.A.W., the Crow Agent Watch. We've been monitoring everyone on this train since the last station. We'll be searching the entire train for evidence. No one is allowed to go outside this wagon."

The Conductor was shocked. "WHAT?! I can't even walk around in me own train?! **How der ye!**" He yelled angrily.

The crows were unfazed. "Once the clock hits midnight, we'll get off at the station with the murderer in cuffs. Stay here while we investigate further." The crows then piled out of the train car, and a grandfather clock chimed. It was 11:00.

The Conductor was furious. "Ohh, those C.A.W. peck necks can't tell me what to do! I bet they committed the murder, and are destroying all the evidence!" True or not, the two girls felt like the crows were not going to be able to solve the murder, and they turned to eachother, explained their plans, and walked out of the train car with full finger guns.

When they walked into the train car, the crows were out patrolling the car. After evading two crows and jumping over some bookcases to avoid another crow, they saw the door to the Rec. Room was open, and they ventured inside.

Inside the rec room on the floor was a folder with the word CLASSIFIED on it in red, and Hat Kid picked it up and looked inside. Inside the folder was a picture of a very angry Conductor holding a knife standing behind an overjoyed Grooves, who was holding a gold Annual Bird Movie Award trophy labelled #42. It looked like the same knife used to stab the victim. There were also newspaper articles about the Conductor's loss of Award #42, and interview logs of some Express Owls stating the Conductor was getting more and more aggressive and angry over the years, and that they were beginning to feel afraid around him.

Putting the evidence away, the two girls continued, jumped up to a higher level, and went into the Night Cabin. In the room, they saw two crows running around a wall with a key behind it. Following the crows and avoiding them, Hat Kid grabbed the key and the two went back into the Rec Room.

After jumping up onto a ledge, avoiding the gaze of a crow, and jumping over to a door, they went through the door, and saw a locked door in front of them. They jumped over the gap and unlocked the door, and went through into the Luggage Room.

Inside the Luggage Room was another telephone, which began ringing with the same ringtone from before the murder. Hat Kid picked it up.

"Who is this?" She asked, and the same voice from earlier spoke.

"So you think you can just sneak around the train like this?" He asked mockingly. "Just drop the detective act. You'll never catch the real murderer." He then laughed, and continued. "You can't point your finger at someone without clues. The clock is ticking. Will you be able to find enough clues to point your finger at the murderer?"

"We will, so you'd better get ready for jail life and my umbrella to your face!" Hat Kid yelled angrily, and the voice hung up.

"Same person?" Bow Kid asked.

"Same person, telling me to stop 'the detective act'," Hat Kid replied. Bow Kid rolled her eyes, and they continued into the room, and saw the massive amount of suitcases and briefcases in the room. Hat Kid saw two crows patrolling around something, and followed them to another folder.

Inside was a picture of the crows looking irritated and extra sketchy, and a newspaper article about the crime rate in the bird world getting very low and agencies going out of business because of it.

Hat Kid put the folder away, and went back to Bow Kid, and the two girls climbed the massive piles of luggage, avoided another crow, and pressed a button, causing a spring board to flip up below them.

The girls then saw the locked door ahead of them and jumped down to the lower level of the luggage room, and went into the previous room, then went into the cafeteria, where the crows were still waiting.

Seeing that they closed their eyes when they laughed, Hat Kid picked up Bow Kid and ran up the stair when they did so, and put her down. The two girls then climbed up the ladder and went into the VIP room.

Obviously, the owl from earlier was gone, but there were now crows in the room, but they managed to evade them easily. On a table was another folder, and Hat Kid grabbed it, and peeked inside.

The folder contained a pictures of the wooden cutout near the victim, and witness sightings of the murder. However, a wooden cutout couldn't possibly murder an owl, it was an inanimate object! Or could it? There was nobody else inside the train car at the time of the murder.

Hat Kid then put the folder away, and climbed up onto a giant TV. She then saw a key on top of a ledge, but to get to it she'd need to jump on a ledge patrolled by another crow. Following behind the crow, she jumped onto the ledge with the key and grabbed it, then jumped down.

The two girls then went back into the rec room and into the luggage room, and used their ice hats to spring back up to the higher level and open the door. They were back in the main room, but on another platform was a button.

Hat Kid jumped on the button, which raised a wall near them and lowered a crow guarding an automatic sliding door. They then jumped over to the door and ventured inside, where they saw a lot of crows patrolling the area and watching screens with TV snow on them.

Seeing two unlocked doors to the upper left, Hat Kid jumped over some crows and rode a rising platform, then ran into the boiler room, and Bow Kid followed suit. Inside the room was a giant boiler, some crows, more crows sat down at tables, and a key.

Hat Kid took off, waiting for some crows to laugh about how she said her least favourite body part was her nose, jumped over some more crows, evaded more laughing crows, and grabbed the key. Seeing another ice platform, she bounced off of it and landed next to a waiting Bow Kid, and the two exited the Boiler Room and jumped over to the locked door to the right side of the room.

Entering the room, Hat Kid and Bow Kid split up, with Bow Kid running off to the right and grabbing another folder, and Hat Kid jumping up and going into the sauna. Inside the sauna were some unfazed Express Owls enjoying the sauna, to the suprise of Hat Kid. Did they not get the memo? Or are they hiding from the crows? Avoiding them, Hat Kid explored the room and grabbed a key, then met back up with Bow Kid back in the room.

Inside the folder was a picture of some Express Owls shying away and looking very guilty, as well as interview logs of Moon Penguins who stated that the Express Owls seemed to be rather on edge as of late. They put the folder away and climbed over to the higher level of the room, and walked through another automatic sliding door, bringing them to a platform with a button on it.

Hat Kid pressed the button, which caused a platform on the other side of the room to start raising and lowering. However, before they went into the locked door up there, they wanted to explore the engine room, and did so.

Inside the room was a massive grinder and some other machinery, as well as crows walking around and another telephone, which started ringing with the very same ringtone.

Hat Kid picked it up.

"Hello again," Hat Kid said tiredly, which seemed to amuse the voice.

"You don't give up, do you?" The voice asked, annoyed.

"Nope!" Hat Kid responded happily.

"It seems the only way I can get rid of you, is to make you run out of time." The voice continued. "So here's a fun time-eater: Rumbi has gotten itself in an unusual situation. It's hanging onto a rope for dear life, just above a wood-cutting machine. What an odd coincidence!"

"Yep. So odd," Hat Kid replied sarcastically.

"What are you going to do? Save Rumbi from becoming sawdust, or figure out who the murderer is?" The voice asked mockingly..

"I'll do both!" Hat Kid replied confidently, then hung up before the voice could. Bow Kid ran up to her, and Hat Kid gave her a look that gave her everything she needed to know. So, the two began climbing up the room, jumping on a wood box, evading a crow, jumping over an unstable platform, evading another crow, jumping on what looked like two giant heaters, and jumping over to the control lever, Hat Kid whacked it with her umbrella, which lowered the wooden dog cutout to the floor safely. Oddly enough, it looked like the same cutout from DJ Groove's endorsement, but that one broke into a million pieces, so it couldn't be. The cutout had a speaker on it which played an automatic voice that sounded similar to the mysterious voice.

"Thank you, kind humans, for saving me, woof." It said, causing Hat Kid to giggle. "I found this clue on the murderer. Hope it helps. Woof woof." It then dropped a folder and tipped over.

The folder contained images of the victim, before and after the murder, alongside interviews of his closest friends and family who claimed he was feeling under the weather recently and also had tendencies to be extremely lazy. However, that would make it a suicide, and it didn't seem like a suicide.

Hat Kid put the folder away, and the two girls exited the room and walked over to the elevating platform, and used it to get up to the door with 'KEEP OUT!' written in red all over it. They unlocked the door and went inside.

Inside was a folder sitting in the middle of the room as well as X-Rays of both Hat Kid and Bow Kid, and speculation on what could be inside Hat Kid's hat. Hat Kid ignored it and grabbed the folder, and her blood ran cold when she saw the contents of the folder.

Pictures of them beating up Mafia and knocking Mafia off of ledges were inside the folder, as well as interviews of the train passengers and Moon Penguins about the mysterious duo were inside, talking about how when they first came to the studio they wreaked havoc, evading arrest, tampering with electronics, destroying property, and harrassing employees. But, they couldn't have committed the murder, they came to the scene after the murder was done! However, they WERE the first people at the scene, so it makes sense that the crows would suspect them.

They put away the folder and heard a grandfather clock chime twelve, and made their way back to the back of the train quickly before the crows arrived.

"So, uh, _who dun' it?!_" The Conductor asked angrily, and the crow looked down, ashamed.

"We don't know." He said sadly. "We couldn't find any conclusive evidence. We have no idea who murdered this owl."

"What?!" The Conductor shouted, outraged. "So you've done PECK ALL to solve the case?!" The crows looked down more, even more ashamed. The Conductor then turned to everyone in the train. "Who's the murderer? Which one of you did it?!"

Hat Kid stepped forward. "They couldn't find any evidence, but we did." She stated proudly. Everyone turned to the two girls, suprised.

"The murderer is..." Hat Kid began, looking at the evidence. She found the evidence that seemed to be the most logical, and turned to the perpetrator(s) She pointed at them, and everyone gasped.

"The crows." She finished.

"The crows did it?" The Conductor asked, making sure he heard her right. Hat Kid turned to him and nodded.

"Yes. We also think we found their motive for the murder." Hat Kid replied.

The crows looked troubled, and they finally cracked. "It's true." The lead crow confessed guiltily. Hat Kid and Bow Kid both crossed their arms smugly, proud of themselves.

"But... why? Why murder one of the Express Owls?" The Conductor inquired.

"Look, there isn't a lot of bird related crime going on. Us C.A.W. Agents were going to be out of work in weeks!" The lead crow stated, clearly distressed, and Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear. Not only did they solve the murder, they solved the motive. "You can't imagine how crammed it is for several _dozen _birds to live in a single one-room apartment! We needed some crime in order to get paid! So we stabbed him with the rubber knife and left him for dead." Hat Kid turned to the crows, confused. Rubber knife?

"Wuzzah what? Rubber knife?!" The Conductor stammered, and the victim got up.

"Yeah, can I go now? I'm kind of sore from playing dead for so long." The 'dead' Express Owl asked awkwardly. Everyone turned to him, shocked even more. "This rubber knife is also a _bit_ uncomfortable." Hat Kid sighed, and Bow Kid nearly fell to the floor. All that freakout and the victim was still alive? Most murder stories don't have such a happy ending.

"Well, thanks for solving the murder, lassies!" The Conductor said happily. "Not only did you reveal the **murderer**, you also revealed that the victim was never harmed!" Hat Kid smiled and Bow Kid blushed. "And you gave us INTENSE footage for the movie!" He finished smugly. Hat Kid's jaw dropped, and Bow Kid nearly fainted. "What? You think I'd let a murder happen on MY Owl Express? Think again! It was all just a setup for my newest Owl Express movie: Murder On The Owl Express!"

Hat Kid took a step back from the Conductor, feeling betrayed. "Y-you put us through the trauma of witnessing a murder, and it was all just a setup?!" She yelled angrily. The Conductor scratched the back of his head.

"I knew the two of ye were knew to movie-makin', so I had ye think the movie was real so yer reactions would be genuine instead of faked, that way ye wouldn't have to worry yerselves about yer actin'!" He explained proudly. Hat Kid sighed. It was true. Suddenly, the Conductor started laughing.

"Oh, you think DJ Peck Neck will make a movie that's even remotely as good? I think not!" He gloated. "Here, take this thingimajig and get outta here!" He then tossed Hat Kid a Time Piece, causing her to grin madly, and the two walked out to the very back of the train and took off into the sky.

_Later, at the movie premiere..._

The Conductor sat there smugly as he saw the credits for the movie play, and the scores were added up. 650 points for the Conductor. DJ Grooves saw this and snickered, and muttered to himself. "You think a boring murder mystery will beat me this time around, darling? This next movie of mine will drive the audiences crazy!" He then chuckled to himself. "You'd better get ready for a reality check, darling, because it's coming faster and harder than you think."


	13. Chapter 12: Sabotage

Chapter 12: Sabotage

**A/N: I've made up my mind about the whole prequel idea, and I think I know what I'm gonna do. Also, yes, again, two chapters in one day. I hope y'all appreciate the dedication I put into my writing. I literally meticulously fleshed it out for a month before I decided to write. But enjoy a nice little chapter turned to chaos.**

The two girls were getting ready for the day ahead. DJ Grooves wanted them back on the moon set for "a special recording", whatever that meant, so they were getting ready for anything.

After a quick bite to eat, they jumped down onto the moon set, and were suprised to see the streets filled to the brim with excited Moon Penguins, who cheered when they saw the two girls land on a roof. After slowly making their way to a waiting DJ Grooves, being careful not to fall down into the mess of birds, because who knows how they'd react to their favourite stars literally falling next to them?

When they reached the penguin, accompanied by some Moon Penguins and some Express Owls with instruments in a line, he turned and smiled to them. "Hello darlings! Welcome to the largest studio set you'll ever see!" He stated calmly. "We're about to record The Big Parade, the movie that'll take the breath away from audiences worldwide! You two'll be the stars, as always."

Bow Kid smiled sheepishly and stepped back. "I-I don't think I can do this one, Grooves." The Penguin seemed concerned.

"Why, darling?" He asked, disappointed.

"I don't have the same level of energy or talent as she does, I'll just get in the way and make it look boring." She responded sadly.

"Are you certain, darling? I had two parade marshall outfits created just for you two!" He replied concerningly. Hat Kid turned to her and frowned, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm sorry, I just can't do it." She apologized sadly. DJ Grooves sighed, then turned to Hat Kid.

"Alright, darling, I guess you're going solo for this one. For this movie, we'll need to use our special prop! It'll pop out at the very end!" He began smoothly. "But wait, darling, your current outfit isn't really fit for a parade. Can you go over there and get dressed?"

Hat Kid ran up to a gift box and opened it, revealing a red and white flashy outfit with matching hat for her, and a black and green outfit with a matching bow. She guessed the latter was for Bow Kid. She then put on her parade outfit over her current clothes and turned back to the DJ, who smiled warmly.

"You look great, darling!" He began warmly, earning a grin from the little girl. "Don't worry, this movie is really easy. Keep moving around and the band will follow you. Just don't bump into them. And keep an eye out for goodies, the audience loves a good parade and will throw treats your way if you get near them."

He continued. "The parade lasts awhile, nothing you can do to speed it up. We'll let you know once we've got enough footage. Don't lose spirit!" He then jumped over to his control float, and looked at the girl. "Good luck, darling!"

Hat Kid braced herself, and when the music began, she took off. Seeing a penguin holding a Grooves token, she ran over to him and he threw it at her, who caught it effortlessly, and sped off with a smile. Her people weren't exactly very celebratory, and only really had one holiday, so seeing such a huge parade was amazing to Hat Kid.

After a boring session of running and jumping around collecting DJ Grooves tokens, the penguin noticed the girl getting bored and piped up. "It's time to turn the heat up in this movie! Darling, can you turn on the pyrotechnics?" He then pointed to a dial on one of the roofs, and Hat Kid nodded and ran over to one, and whacked it with her umbrella, turning it on. The music then kicked up, turning to a faster paced, more anxiety-inducing tone.

After running and jumping over to to the pyrotechnics dials and turning each on, a drum roll played out, the crowd cheered, and the music went back to normal. Hat Kid then turned to see the central roof start counting down from 3 to 0, then light up with pyrotechnics.

To the concern of the small girl, the penguins on top of the platform began jumping up and down and screaming in pain, and the crowd cheered, thinking it was an act. Hat Kid made a mental note to make sure not to step on the platforms about to go off.

After some more running around and collecting Grooves tokens, made more hazardous and tricky by the pyrotechnics, the DJ noticed that the movie seemed too boring to the audiences and spoke to Hat Kid again. "This movie needs more action! Darling, turn on the fireworks cannon for the big fireworks show!"

Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear, not only was she the marshall of a parade, but there was going to be a huge fireworks display as well? She jumped on one of the firework cannons and it sparked to life, shooting out a firework rocket. Hat Kid sped off, blissfully unaware to the mortal peril she was in.

The firework, instead of shooting up into the air and exploding, it turned around and chased right after Hat Kid. DJ Grooves didn't notice this, but Bow Kid did, and ran over to the DJ and got his attention.

"Look!" She shouted and pointed toward Hat Kid. The DJ stared in horror as the firework went off, completely suprising Hat Kid and sending her flying into a barrel roll. Seeing no other way to end the movie, she went and turned on the other firework cannons, and the DJ was freaking out. "What have you done?!" Bow Kid shouted angrily.

"Don't look at me, darling! I didn't do this!" He replied, panicked.

"End the movie!" Bow Kid shouted in response.

"I can't! The machines will not turn off until the prop is released and grabbed, and it runs on a timer!" The DJ yelled back.

Hat Kid was scared for her life. She was barely able to dodge more firework rockets, until she had to stop to miss one and the leading Express Owl crashed into her, sending her down into the audience below, who cheered and roughly tossed her back into the air with a yelp. They thought it was all a part of the parade. Just then, the disco ball holding the Time Piece clicked, and the DJ spoke up.

"Time to release the parade suprise! Grab it, darling!" The DJ shouted, and the disco ball broke in two, releasing the Time Piece. Hat Kid ran for her life to the prop and grabbed it, and the machines shut down and the audiences cleared. However, the remaining fireworks were still live, and Hat Kid quickly dashed out of the way of them, and they hit the floor and exploded.

Bow Kid and DJ Grooves jumped out of the control float and ran over to a shaking Hat Kid. Her parade clothes were singed, her face was covered in ash from the explosions, and she looked like she just saw a ghost.

"Darling, are you alright?" The Penguin asked, and Hat Kid turned to him, furious.

"Why should I be after you put me through all of that idiocy?" She hissed back.

"I'm so sorry darling, they were supposed to be normal fireworks, I have no idea what happened!" He replied apologetically. Hat Kid then sat down, and tended to a small burn on her arm.

"I think I know what happened." Bow Kid said angrily. "I saw a shady looking crow walking around here just before the parade, I think he might have sabotaged your fireworks and replaced them with homing rockets."

After hearing that, the DJ became infuriated. "Oh, I will find that poor excuse of a bird and I will tear him to shreds!" Bow Kid stepped back. The DJ had never been this angry before.

Bow Kid stepped back guiltily. "I shouldn't have backed down from the parade." Hat Kid turned to her and smiled weakly.

"Don't blame this on yourself, Bow. You had nothing to do with this." She reassured her first officer, and she turned to her again and smiled. It was all too much for Hat Kid, and she began crying quietly. DJ Grooves and Bow Kid then hugged her, and the DJ broke down.

"Oh, darling, my diva, I'm so, so sorry," He stated sadly, and all three of them began crying as Hat Kid hugged them both back.

_Later, at the movie premiere..._

You'd think DJ Grooves would be happy about how his movie turned out, but he was just sad and mad, and if anyone approached him to ask what happened, he lashed out. The Conductor was laughing like mad in the background at the penguin, but stopped when he saw the scores. 848 points, making 1444 in total. The Conductor then turned back to the penguin, and began muttering: "What? Ye didn't like me parade suprise, peck neck? Ye should be thanking me, if it weren't for that yer boring movie wouldn't have been so well recieved!" He then laughed again. "But eh, it doesn't matter anyway, when ye see me next movie ye'll be wishin' ye never got into the movie business! It'll be... **THE BOMB!**" He shouted, then began cackling maniacally as he exited the theater.


	14. Chapter 13: Hatred

Chapter 13: Hatred

**A/N: I know, three chapters in one day? Well I had absolutely peck all to do, and Chapter 11 I wrote yesterday, so why not continue writing? I enjoy writing for this story and it's a good way to pass time, so this story might be finished quicker than I thought. Now enjoy as Conductor goes batty, and Hat Kid and Grooves become the angriest they have ever been in their entire lives.**

The girls landed back at the caboose of the train, and saw the Conductor standing there. However, he didn't look anywhere near as calm and happy as when they first came on the Owl Express, but seemed rather... crazed.

"Go on in! We're getting ready to shoot the **BIGGEST **action movie in bird history!" He shouted excitedly. "The movie is gonna be... **THE BOMB!**" He then laughed maniacally, and Hat Kid gave him a concerned glare. They were not liking the sounds of that.

"Great, even more chaos, that's what I need after the fiasco with Grooves..." Hat Kid muttered sarcastically.

"What? Ye didn't like me parade suprise? It's the only reason the viewers liked the movie!" Conductor replied mockingly. Hat Kid turned to him, eyes wide.

"Y-YOU sabotaged his props and put MY life in danger?!" She asked, infuriated.

"Now, now, lass. I didn't intend for the rockets te go after ye," He explained calmly. "I wanted them to go after... something else, but they malfuctioned and made ye their target." Hat Kid gave him a death stare, and the two girls stomped off inside the train, where they heard some unnerving news from some Express Owls.

"Did we load more explosives than usual today?" and "What kind of movie are we recording? There's no stops on the schedule." Were the Owls' main questions, which unsettled Bow Kid. Just then, Hat Kid saw a very... strange being sitting in the train, twitching and glitching uncontrollably, like he was pulled directly from a very low budget video game. Hat Kid walked up to him.

"Hello?..." She began, and the... creature turned to her.

"_Hi there, young one._" He began strangely. "_I am from a faraway land. I've seen every corner of the earth, and now I sell tiny pieces of my discoveries._" Hat Kid gave him a curious expression, and he continued. "_You may call me the Badge Seller, for I sell and trade badges. I can provide you with strong upgrades to your hat, if you have money, of course._" Hat Kid raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know about my hat powers?" She asked the merchant, which amused him.

"_Let's just say... I have my ways._" He responded mysteriously. "_For this movie you're about to record, I think I may have a certain badge you may want to buy._" He then pointed to a clamp with a red X above it.

Hat Kid then checked what the merchant was selling, and with what money they had, she bought a pair of badge pins, magnet badges, and hookshot badges, costing a total of 550 pons. She waved to the merchant, said "Bye!", then tested out her new badge on the clamp, which shifted and lowered, switching to a green checkmark.

The Conductor appeared on a screen at the front of the train, who knows how he got there. He seemed troubled, and he looked dead serious at the little girl.

"Alright lassie, listen up. I have some bad news." He began anxiously. "That lever ye just pulled... it starts the train's self destruct sequence, and that ain't no joke. It'll blow up!" Hat Kid gasped and Bow Kid began panicking. "I need a movie with some REAL intense action, so that's what we're gonna do! The train's gonna blow in a few minutes!" He said excitedly. "But, you two can save us all, lassie! Get to the switch at the front of the train to turn it off!" He then saw the shocked expression on Hat Kid's face and became angry. "And ye better make it in time, alright?! I don't care about the owls or yerselves, but don't you **dare** blow up me train for real! It's me baby!" He shouted furiously, and Hat Kid took a step back, hurt.

"The cameras are gonna be rollin' lassie, ye hurry now! Go! Over and out!" He finished excitedly, and Hat Kid made a mad dash for the door when she heard music begin to play. As if the situation alone wasn't enough anxiety and stress.

"**Two minutes and zero seconds to self destruct. Oh no.**" A female voice stated without emotion, and Hat Kid saw a timer with +20s written on it, and grabbed it, and felt something shift in the train. So those clocks add to the timer. Good.

Inside the room was a pit full of green acid and some cannons shooting what looked like explosive eggs to the side of the room. Both girls dodged the obstacles with ease, and both girls dashed like mad into the next room.

The entire floor was covered with acid as explosive eggs were shooting toward them and they had to climb multiple platforms to avoid them. Bow Kid, in her anxiety, dashed too far ahead and took an explosive egg to the chest, knocking her back and making her release a scream of pain.

She sat down and didn't feel strong enough to get back up. Hat Kid stopped.

"Go on without me," Bow Kid stated confidently.

"No," Hat Kid replied sadly. "I can't."

"You need to turn off the bomb, or we all die." Bow Kid stated confidently. "I'll be fine. Please. Go."

Tears welled up in Hat Kid's eyes. "Not without you!" She shouted desperately. Adrenaline was pumping through her whole body and she just picked Bow Kid up and carried her into the next room, stepping on some panels to unlock the door in the process.

The next room seemed normal, except the train car was sawed into multiple pieces by saw blades.

"Why the PECK does he have this stuff on his train?!" Hat Kid shouted angrily. After jumping onto some balloons over a gap and grabbing another clock, Hat Kid jumped onto some handcars, and one bounced her up to the top of the train, where she saw two train cars explode and fly off the tracks, and platforms raise from the ground. After some hookshot swinging and some platforming, she swung through a ring of fire, grabbing another timer, and they ran on the top of a traincar and came to a bunch of floating panels.

When Hat Kid ran on them, they activated and fell, and she ran over each one franticly and almost fell off, but they all turned green and raised back up, and Hat Kid jumped on the train car that approached them.

She swung with her hookshot some more and crashed into the last train car before the front of the train, which was covered in lava and cannons were shooting explosive cakes everywhere.

She ran for her life and swung over a wall of fire, and activated some platforms when collided into an explosive cake, which exploded, knocking Hat Kid back with a screech. She got up, and continued, until the final panels were activated and she ran into locomotive car, stepping on the button.

They heard something click, and a powering down noise. The bomb was deactivated. Hat Kid let Bow Kid down and fell to the floor with a grunt.

The Conductor was pleased. "Oh, ye made it! And in time!" He shouted happily. Bow Kid was shaking uncontrollably, and both girls quickly checked to make sure they weren't badly injured. To their relief, there were just minor burns. Hat Kid got up and put her arm around Bow Kid and began trying to calm her, when the Conductor piped up again.

"Oh ho ho, look at all this raw footage we got!" He rambled on, overjoyed. "Look at how yer... yer runnin'! For dear life!" He let out a maniacal cackle, and Hat Kid turned to him, and she was **FURIOUS.** The Conductor was unfazed.

"Oh, what? We did it in the name of cinematography! And to beat that no-good DJ Grooves! I bet he won't be able to make HALF the movie we just made!" He explained nonchalantly. "Alright, here, take one of these thingimajigs ye like, ye deserve it." Hat Kid just took the Time Piece, stomped up to him, and slapped him **hard** in the face, shocking him.

"At least Grooves cares about us, respects our safety, and doesn't think himself better than everyone else when in reality he's the worst." She stated weakly. "At least Grooves doesn't treat us like trash, and doesn't have anger management issues. You and your movies can go **PECK** themselves." Then, the two girls stomped out of the train car, leaving behind a flabbergasted Conductor, then took off into the sky.

"Hmph. If yer gonna be like that, then I'm glad the rockets went after ye ugly mug!" The Conductor yelled to the girls.

_Later, at the movie premiere..._

Conductor was sitting there smugly, again, about his movie, and at the end of the movie, when DJ Grooves saw how he treated his two stars, he didn't care anymore if the bird saw him or not. He stomped up to the yellow bird and punched him in the face.

"AH! What was that for, peck neck?!" The Conductor asked furiously.

"**LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY DIVAS!**" The DJ screamed back, grabbing the bird by the collar. "FIRST, you sabotage my movie and almost get her killed, then you harrass the two girls and make them go through all that **MESS** of a movie**?**" The Conductor broke free his grasp and stepped back, shocked at just how angry his penguin rival was. In all the time he'd harrassed him, beat him, and made him look bad, he kept his cool, and now, he absolutely lost it, and it didn't even involve him.

"Ey! They signed up for it! I warned them that the movie was gonna be intense! They should've just said they couldn't do it and I could've gotten someone else to! Also, the rockets were meant to go for you!" He spat back, then covered his beak at what he just spilled out. The DJ turned to him, and took off his shades, revealing eyes full of hatred.

"**WHAT?!**" DJ Grooves shouted, making the Conductor flinch. "You pathetic excuse of a bird, you are lucky we are in public, or I would be strangling you right here and now!" For once, the Conductor couldn't find anything to retort, and the penguin just turned and began walking out of the theater. "Honestly, I don't care who wins the award anymore. I'm just happy that a real tragedy didn't take place." The penguin stated sadly, then left.

However, it would later occur to the DJ that he spoke far too soon.


	15. Chapter 14: Rift-ing and Relaxing

Chapter 14: Rift-ing and Relaxing

The two girls landed near Dead Bird Studio, and walked inside. They talked to the receptionist, who called DJ Grooves down to the lobby, and he greeted the two girls warmly.

"Welcome back, darlings! You probably won't be seeing the Conductor around here today, if you're looking for him," He began warmly. "He and I... had a little 'discussion' about his treatment of you at the movie theater, and he's been avoiding me since. But just out of curiosity, what brings you here today?"

"Oh," Hat Kid asked. "Are you not recording any more movies?"

"We are, but not for the movie awards. You've fulfilled your acting roles for this year." He replied. "The Annual Bird Movie Award is in two days, darling. You two can just go home and relax for now." Hat Kid smiled and nodded at the penguin, and the two left, returning to their spaceship.

"So, if we have nothing left to do at the studio, what do we do?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Might as well get this rift taken care of," Hat Kid answered, then she went up to the monitor, recieved an image of the rift, and the two jumped down to Mafia Town.

It took them awhile to find the rift, considering how vague the image was, but eventually, they found the bazaar, and the Time Rift, and entered it.

Inside the rift was a bunch of rotating rectangular platforms with obstacles sticking out, some sleepy raccoons, a slope, and some generic platforming to bring it all together. They got to the end of the rift easily, avoiding all the sleepy raccoons and jumping across the platforms effortlessly, but were surprised to see the Time Piece rotating along the side of one of the vertical rotating platforms.

They waited for the Time Piece to get into the correct position and ran after it, collecting it easily, then Hat Kid sealed the rift and they were back in the collapsed tunnel. Hat Kid smiled, and the two ran to the beach and used the newly collected Time Piece to return to the ship.

When they entered the ship, Hat Kid put the Time Piece back into the vault and checked their progress. 14/46 collected. Hat Kid then stretched, but was interrupted by an alarm.

**Warning. Time Rifts detected.**

Hat Kid sighed and went up to the big monitor, and tapped it, then groaned. One Time Rift was on Grooves' moon set, the other was on the recently repaired Owl Express. What are the chances? They decided to get the worst one out of the way first and jumped down to the planet below.

They just barely managed to land on the back of the train, and a certain yellow bird was sitting there, who turned and scowled at them.

"What are ye peck necks doin' back on me train?!" He shouted angrily at them.

"Oh, sorry, we should've let you know in advance" Hat Kid replied uncomfortably. "We forgot something here and we came by to grab it. The Conductor huffed.

"Fine, but once ye got what ye left behind, get outta here!" He yelled at them, and they went inside, and got to the cafeteria, and went inside the rift.

Inside the rift were a bunch of turning gears, floor panels, rotating platforms, walls, and some Express Owls. After walljumping up to a panel, and diving up to another one, they jumped over to where the first Express Owl, who turned and threw a clipboard at them. The girls dodged easily, and Hat Kid tried reasoning with the owl.

"Hey, stop, we don't want to hurt you." Hat Kid explained calmly, but the owl didn't listen, and they were forced to attack him. After some more simple platforming and stepping on more floor panels, they eventually got to the Time Piece, and Hat Kid grabbed it, and then sealed the rift.

When they got to the back of the train, the Conductor was still there, so they couldn't leave through there. However, they didn't know that the Conductor noticed the Time Piece in her hand and the missing Express Owls returning, and that because of those facts, he realized something was up.

The two girls made it to the front of the train, climbed onto the roof of it, and took off. The Conductor pulled out one of his props and scrutinized it.

"Why would the lassies like these thingimajigs so much?" He asked himself. "They're just glowing hourglasses! Nothing special about 'em!" He then was about to put it away, but felt something... or someone... snatch it from his hands.

"So you think they're just some boring old props?" Someone asked mockingly. "Let **me** show you why those two brats want these things so much, and why it might be in your best interests to keep one."

The two girls crawled inside the spaceship, and Hat Kid put the Time Piece back into the vault and sighed. She was going to have a long nap after this. She then climbed into her pilot's chair and piloted the ship to orbit the moon, then they jumped down to the moon set.

When they reached the set, camera crews were around the place and there were some Moon Penguins around, which meant DJ Grooves must be recording a movie there. Hat Kid hoped they wouldn't bump into the penguin as she didn't want to have to lie to him, too. They quickly jumped around the set and found the rift on a building, and jumped into it.

Inside the rift was a present box and the Express Band, for some odd reason. Hat Kid, confused, walked up to the lead owl.

"How did you get here and why are you here?" She asked the nervous owl, who chuckled.

"We could ask you two the same question. We heard something break and shatter and went to see what happened, and traced it back to a newly appeared swirling blue orb." He explained nervously. "I don't know how to get us out of here, but you seem to know your way around. Can you help us get out of here?"

Hat Kid huffed. "Okay, just follow me, like in The Big Parade, but I want you to promise me something." The Owl, interested, turned to her. "DO NOT speak about this, or I will silence you, no matter how I have to do it." She warned, dead serious.

"W-we weren't planning on talking about it anyways." He replied, and Hat Kid smiled.

"Good! Let's get going." She said happily, and they began platforming through the rift, which was made slightly more complicated for Hat Kid because of the owls following her. However, they managed to make it to the end without issue, and Hat Kid grabbed the Time Piece.

"This is why I don't want you speaking up about today." Hat Kid explained. "If Grooves OR Conductor found out about the secret their 'props' hold, the Universe itself could be in danger." The Owls nodded, it made sense to them. Hat Kid then motioned for everyone to stand close to her, and she sealed the rift and they were back on the moon, however, while they were gone, they did not notice that Time had rewound, and the two girls returned to their spaceship, blissfully ignorant of the rising risk.

"But... why? Why wouldn't the lassies tell me about this?" The Conductor asked, purely shocked about what his new friend had showed him.

"They wanted to keep them for themselves, so they could use them for their own selfish needs." She replied, amused by the bird's reaction. "They don't care about you, your movies, the studio, or even the planet. They only care about themselves. I'll trust you with this Time Piece, I don't care what you do with it." She continued. "But, if you need guidance or help, come to Mafia Town and seek me out. I'll be waiting." She then took off with a flash of red and orange, leaving a very perturbed Conductor behind.

"Hmph. Well, well, well. If the lassies don't care about the planet, or this studio, then I don't see why I should care about them! Time to use this 'prop' correctly!" He muttered evilly to himself, then put the Time Piece away.


	16. Chapter 15: One Peck Of A Time

Chapter 15: One Peck of a Time

**A/N: Here we go, the chapter I was looking forward to writing the most! This will be a battle for the ages! I think ya'll will like this one, I fleshed out this chapter the most, I basically already had the majority of the words decided before I even began the story. So, enjoy this chapter, it's gonna be one **_**peck**_** of a time! *insert evil cackle here***

Hat Kid snuck around the ship warily. While waiting for the Award Ceremony, she and her first officer decided to train by 'fighting' eachother repeatedly until someone yielded. She went into the bedroom, and felt a pillow collide with her face, knocking her back.

She then heard Bow Kid laughing and charged into the room, and dove over to the pillow pile. She grabbed a bunch of pillows and began throwing them at her first officer, who dodged them easily with a raspberry. Slightly annoyed, Hat Kid tackled her to the ground with a yelp, and began whacking her with a pillow, and both girls laughed. They hadn't had that much fun in a long time.

Bow Kid managed to get her captain off of her and taunted her.

"Come on!" She taunted mockingly. "Is that all you got?"

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Hat Kid replied confidently. Both girls then ran over and grabbed their parasols, and began clashing with them. However, just as Hat Kid was about to overpower her first officer, an alarm blared out throughout the ship.

**ALERT! ALERT! INTRUDER DETECTED!**

Both girls bolted to the main hub, and saw a Moon Penguin climb inside. Hat Kid was confused.

"How did you get up here?" Hat Kid asked the penguin.

"How do you think we get to the moon and back?" He responded. "This is a fine ship you gals got here. The boss told us to go find you two and remind you that the award ceremony is today, in case you forgot."

"Oh." Hat Kid replied. "We did kind of forget." She then turned to Bow Kid. "Ok, let's get ready and go." She ordered, and Bow Kid nodded. The Moon Penguin then climbed out of the ship, went into his own ship, and zoomed back to the planet. The girls then spent the next hour getting ready for the award ceremony (they were a little bit roughed up after their little standoffs), then jumped out of the hatch.

They landed near Dead Bird Studio, and DJ Grooves walked outside to greet them.

"Welcome back to the studio, darlings! I won't keep you waiting in the desert heat for long, but I have to warn you about something." The penguin DJ explained happily, then turned dead serious. "Be careful around The Conductor. He seems a little bit... off... recently. I don't know what happened, but I've known the Conductor for decades and he has never been this, well, vicious. Please be ever so careful around him, I don't know what he might do."

Hat Kid turned and gave him a concerned frown. "Aren't you going to come inside? It's very hot out here." She asked concerningly.

"I would, darling, but..." DJ Grooves said somberly. "I lost, again. That no-good bird beats me _every. Single. Year._ I've only won once, and this year he's being extra smug about it." He then turned to the girls and smiled weakly. "So, you two should head inside. If you bump into the Conductor, and he gets aggressive, don't be afraid to call me."

Hat Kid nodded, and the two went inside. They didn't see the Conductor anywhere, so after around an hour of waiting, it was time for the Award Ceremony. The two girls walked into a dark room, and saw The Conductor standing on stage next to a gold trophy, being congratulated by some Express Owls while a countdown was being shown on the wall behind him.

"Thank ye, thank ye. Oh, yer too kind!" He said appreciatively, then the owls stopped congratulating him. "No no, please, keep going." He then noticed the two girls, and turned to them, smiling. "Oh, lassies, its you! I did it! I won the annual bird movie award once again! Imagine the face DJ Grooves must be pulling now!" He shouted smugly, then laughed. Hat Kid smiled at him uncomfortably.

"Yeah, good job. You definitely know how to make a good movie." She said to the bird nervously, which seemed to please him.

"Here, take this tiny, insignificant movie prop to match yer tiny, insignificant efforts in securing _my_ victory!" He replied mockingly, then tossed Hat Kid a Time Piece. Hat Kid frowned at him. "Ye can probably sell it on eBird for dimes and nickels." He continued.

"I'm sorry, what?" She hissed at the bird. "If it wasn't for us, you know you would've lost! Who would've been the detectives in Murder On The Owl Express? Who do you know is talented enough to do Train Rush?"

This angered The Conductor. "What? Yer expectin' more, or somethin'? Pft! Forget it! Go! Shush! Get outta here! I never wanna see yer ugly mugs again!" Tears began streaming down Hat Kid's face, and she ran up to the bird and whacked him square in the face with her umbrella, then stomped out of the room. Bow Kid scowled at him.

"What the peck is wrong with you?!" She shouted, then ran off the stage after her captain, and they returned to the ship. Hat Kid put the Time Piece in the vault, then ran into the bedroom and sat down with her face in her hands.

"What did I do wrong? Why is he so mad at me?" She asked herself melancholically. Bow Kid sat down next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"It isn't your fault. It's his. He doesn't deserve your sadness, or your thoughts. If he's gonna be mean, you gotta be mean back." Bow Kid told her captain, who turned to her, and nodded.

"Yeah, he's gonna have fun finding new actors after all that." Hat Kid said mischeviously, and the two girls grinned, and Hat Kid wiped away her tears.

"So, now what do we do?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Maybe pay Grooves a visit?" She comtemplated, but was interrupted by a strangely familiar ringtone.

"Do you hear that?" Bow Kid asked. "I don't like that."

"Sounds like it's coming from the Machine Room. Let's go." Hat Kid answered, and they went to the Machine Room, where an old telephone was ringing with a very familiar ringtone. Hat Kid picked it up.

"Hello? Who is this?" She asked, then heard a voice she thought she would never, ever hear again.

"The annual bird movie award was rigged. It was an inside job." The mysterious voice from Murder On The Owl Express explained. "The winner knows about the power of the Time Pieces. He's been keeping one, and he's going to break it." Hearing that made Hat Kid go pale and almost drop the phone. Bow Kid listened in and began panicking. That's why he was so mad at them. The voice continued. "The truth lies underneath Dead Bird Studio. What goes on in Dead Bird Studio when no one is around?"

"Blow the cover on this thing, _**darling.**_" He finished, then hung up. Both girls bolted for the hatch, and were about to jump out, when Hat Kid turned to Bow Kid.

"Stay here. Maybe I can negotiate with him." She ordered, but Bow Kid was having none of it.

"I don't give a peck what you say this time. Even if it means you leave me behind, I am coming with you, like it or not." She responded stubbornly, and Hat Kid just sighed.

"Fine." She replied, then they jumped out the hatch down to a seemingly abandoned Dead Bird Studio. When they got inside, they went back into the studio through the vent, and jumped up to the powered down device and jumped off to the Conductor's side of the studio, and they went back inside the saloon-looking building, and saw that an elevator still had power.

They pressed the button to call the elevator and stepped inside, and it took them down to the basement. When they stepped out of the elevator, they saw some boxes stacked up and some turned-on cameras guarding a door. They guessed that they should avoid the cameras and climbed up the boxes, then jumped over the wall over to the other side of the door.

They then walked down through a short corridor and came to a large chasm with some power lines to jump across. They jumped on a small platform and jumped again to a pipe with some Pons on it, then ran across it and jumped onto a power line.

They jumped over the surges of electricity surging across the line, and Hat Kid used her hookshot badge to go into a sealed off room with a relic in it. She then climbed back to Bow Kid, and the two continued hopping across power lines until they got to a spring board.

They jumped on the spring board, which sent them flying up to another level of the studio. They heard the Conductor rambling on about the Time Piece throughout the studio, but couldn't decipher his words or find out who he was talking to. They jumped up some boxes to get up to a higher level, jumped over to a ball of Ice Yarn, and jumped back.

They then hopped across some pipes and walljumped up to a platform above the room, and used their hookshot badges to swing across the room on some broken pipes and get to a door, and went through it.

On the other side of the door was a giant warehouse filled with boxes, props, and those platforms that raise and lower (can't remember what they're called). Hat Kid jumped on a platform, bounced off of a sandbag, and grabbed a ball of sprint yarn, then returned to Bow Kid, and they jumped onto another platform, jumped on a long box, and dove over to another stack of boxes.

They then ran and jumped over to a stack of boxes with a springboard on it, and jumped on that, springing them up to a higher stack of boxes, where they avoided a camera and jumped down to a lower stack of boxes, where they then used a sandbag to jump over to another stack of boxes.

After avoiding another camera, they jumped up to a taller stack of boxes, and jumped on another spring board, sending them to an even taller stack of boxes. They then jumped up to a ledge, and ran along it, then jumped up again to a stack of boxes, where they heard the Conductor again.

They couldn't decipher many of his words, but they could definitely hear "What? The bomb from Train Rush?... Maybe I should keep it, in case _someone_ shows up!", and then laughing. Hat Kid went pale again, and Bow Kid began panicking. The Conductor really had gone mad.

The two girls then bounced off of more sandbags onto a central stack of crates, then jumped off of it onto a wooden platform with another ball of ice yarn on it. They then jumped over to another ledge and jumped into another room.

Inside the room was a large metal door, with some panels connected to it to raise it. They stepped on a floor panel in front of it, then jumped onto a spring board to get them higher into the room. After avoiding two more camera, and strangely, some crows and a Moon Penguin, they managed to turn on every panel, and they jumped down and used their umbrellas to land safely in front of the giant door, and ran into the next room.

The next room was a giant TV mounted to the wall with a lot of chairs in front of it, and seemingly a dead end, when Hat Kid noticed two walls were close enough that they could jump off of them to get higher up into the room, where a vent was. The two girls did so, and crawled through the vent, into what looked like DJ Grooves' office/business area, then jumped down to avoid some cameras.

They then jumped onto a crate and jumped back up into the higher level of the area, to avoid more cameras, then jumped down and ran into what seemed to be DJ Grooves' own office, where there were posters for his movies and a large set of mirrors. They went through a door beside where they came into the room, and found themselves in what seemed to be a corridor of storage rooms for DJ Grooves' props.

They ventured into a small room between two corridors, jumped onto a shelf and dove over a camera, and found themselves in The Conductor's business/storage area. They went into a large meeting room with a long table with cameras covering each section of the room, and used their hookshot badges to swing over them, land on a trophy case, and jump into a vent.

When they jumped out of the other side of the vent, they found themselves in The Conductor's office, with more mirrors and posters. Hat Kid walked up to the posters of their movies and smiled at them.

"Hey, these posters turned out pretty great!" She commented happily about the posters, then thought of something. "Wait a minute, we didn't give them permission to use our pictures in marketing, I don't even think we signed a contract for anything here!" She then turned to her first officer. "I don't think we're getting paid for these movies." She stated sadly, then Bow Kid frowned.

Shrugging it off, they jumped on a clothing rack and bounced off more sandbags until they landed in the upper area of the Conductor's office area, and ran through another vent into a room with an exit on the other side, but in between them was a gap leading down into a fan, and a wall blocking the upper half of the gap.

Hat Kid took a step back, jumped down, and jumped again midair, landing on the other side of the room. Bow Kid stepped back and scratched her head.

"You can do it!" Hat Kid said encouragingly. "You can do anything I can, maybe more, and I just did that easily!" Bow Kid stepped back more, and Hat Kid continued encouraging her, until she gave in and jumped over the fan, and almost didn't make the gap, but Hat Kid grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Bow Kid wasn't pleased.

"'You can do it,' eh?" She mocked her captain, who turned to her.

"I forgot you don't have experience in double jumping. Sorry." She apologized nervously, and Bow Kid just sighed. They continued back into DJ Grooves' side of the studio, where they saw a vent.

They jumped into the vent and landed down in a dirty room with an elevator covered in caution tape surrounded with warning signs that stated: "No Humans Allowed,", "No Kids Allowed,", and "No Eggs Allowed,". They ignored the signs and entered the elevator, which took them down.

Hat Kid was beginning to feel sick to her stomach. She didn't know why, but she had a horrible feeling that something terrible was going to happen. The elevator dinged and opened, revealing The Conductor on a stage in a large room with stands on the sides, full of hyped Express Owls.

The girls stepped forward, and The Conductor shot them an evil grin.

"Oh ho ho hoo, look who we've got here! Looks like ye found my little basement, eh?" He began mockingly. Hat Kid stepped forward, and gave him a determined scowl.

"You know why we're here, just give us what belongs to us and we won't harm you." She threatened, which amused The Conductor.

"This last Time Piece is **all mine!** If ye want it, ye'll have to take it from me **cold, dead hands!**" He shouted, then music started playing as The Conductor jumped up to the rafters and jumped down at Hat Kid, who jumped out of the way and whacked him with her umbrella.

He then jumped back on the stage and whistled, signalling stage lights to fall from the ceiling. Hat Kid and Bow Kid dodged them easily, and the Conductor made an annoyed grunt then tried to charge at Hat Kid again, who sidestepped out of the way, then both girls whacked him in the face with their umbrellas.

He then jumped to the top of the room and came down on a disco ball, which stopped midair.

"Here we..." He shouted, then the ball came down as he shouted "GO!". The disco ball slamming down threw both girls up in the air, but they got up and jumped over the shockwave created, and then Bow Kid stomped on his head.

This pattern continued for around a minute, until the Conductor jumped back on the stage, furious. "Why did I let YE be the stars of MY MOVIE?!" He yelled angrily, then pulled out a knife, confusing Hat Kid.

The lights then turned off on the stage, the music went silent, and the Conductor charged at Bow Kid, shouting "This one ain't rubber!". Hat Kid was shocked. What sick piece of crap tries **stabbing a child?!** Bow Kid was also perturbed by the weapon, and whacked him again.

He then jumped back in front of the stage, and pulled out the knife again, then slowly began walking toward Hat Kid thrusting the knife rapidly in her direction. She saw that he was making himself vulnerable and homing attacked him, knocking him back, but also getting a slight cut in the process. It really wasn't rubber.

He then summoned another disco ball. "Ladies and..." He began, then the disco ball faked lowering to psyche the girls out. "GENTLEMEN!" The disco ball slammed into the floor, but the girls jumped into the air, and Hat Kid homing attacked him again. He then kicked her backward. "Watch this!" He shouted crazily, then began charging with the knife slowly toward Bow Kid, who ran out of the way, and Hat Kid snuck behind the bird and whacked him again, causing him to snarl.

He then jumped back on stage, pulled out his trusty knife again, and charged in the dark toward Hat Kid, shouting "Slice of life!" as he did so. After another whack with the umbrella, the pattern continued for another 30 seconds or so, until the Conductor got even angrier.

"I can't believe I let ye peck necks on me train, only to have yer be the troublemakers!" He hissed angrily, then whistled, summoning a bunch of cars to circle around the girls. Realizing what they were going to do, they jumped out of the way and watched them crash into eachother.

The Conductor then pulled out his knife again, but before jumping down, a flash went off, and two life-size pictures of him holding the knife appeared beside him. The lights turned off again, and the girls were surprised to see 3 knives lunge at them instead of 1. They were photo-copies of the attacks. The lights turned back on, and Hat Kid whacked the Conductor with her umbrella again.

He then summoned another disco ball, and another flash went off, revealing two photo copies of the Conductor on the ball. They then fell down, causing the same results as the actual disco ball, and Bow Kid whacked the bird with the umbrella, but got hit by the shockwave in the process, releasing a yelp of pain.

The Conductor then whistled for the cars again, but this time all four charged at the girls at the same time, but they dodged effortlessly anyway. After doing the knife and ball attacks some more, this time with 4 photocopies instead of two, the Conductor has had enough.

"How could ye do this to me, lassie?" He shouted to Hat Kid, then the lights turned off again as the stage went silent. A spotlight revealed a Moon Penguin sitting on the stage now, playing a relaxing song on the piano.

The Conductor appeared in the middle of the room on a chair, next to a picnic table, and looked at Hat Kid.

"Let's have a little heart-to-heart. Have a seat, lassie." He ordered calmly. Hat Kid didn't trust this, but maybe she could reason with him and have a little rest. She sat down in the chair and looked at the Conductor, who looked back at her. "Ever since the two of ye arrived here on this planet, these Time Pieces have been falling from the sky. Now, I can understand if ye feel they belong to ye, I get it. But, did ye know they can rewind time?" He rambled calmly.

Hat Kid turned to him and nodded apologetically. "We did. We were going to explain the situation after the award ceremony, but you kind of found out first." She explained.

The Conductor continued. "WIth one Time Piece, I could reclaim the trophy that belongs to me! That's right, the loss of award 42!" He seemed sad. "I got 2nd place at the 42nd annual bird movie award. Me! Can you imagine?! DJ Grooves managed to get the first place trophy." He said in a bewildered tone. "I need just one Time Piece to fix this mistake. Can't ye spare just one Time Piece?"

Hat Kid turned to the Conductor apologetically. "I-I'm sorry, Conductor, but we can't. You don't understand, those Time Pieces DO belong to me, and I swore an oath to die before I let the Time Pieces fall into the wrong hands. Besides, I've seen your trophy cases. You don't need any more stupid trophies." She explained sadly.

The Conductor was infuriated by the response. "Yer a **greedy** young lass, aren't ye?! I just need a single one, and ye won't share?!" He said furiously, making sure he heard her right, and she nodded. "Well, if ye want this Time Piece back sooo bad, _**COME AND GET IT!**_"

Hat Kid felt something click and attach to her back, then she heard ticking. Bow Kid went pale and pointed to her. The Conductor appeared on the stage, and he had the most sadistic look the girls had ever seen.

"Remember this lil' bomb? This time, it's attached to you instead of me lovely train!" He said evilly, then cackled. The music kicked up again, and the room rumbled.

**1 minute and 20 seconds until self destruct. Better hurry.**

The Conductor then jumped down and ran across the room with his arms flailing. "Time's tickin' away!" He shouted mockingly. Hat Kid ran up to him and whacked him, and then he jumped up on the stands and threw sawblades at the little girls, then jumped down to where Hat Kid was, but she jumped up and homing attacked him.

He then jumped to a corner of the room and said "Check this out!", then threw sawblades at Bow Kid, but Hat Kid jumped and stomped on him. Just then, they heard a familiar voice come from the stands.

"Darling! Darling!" DJ Grooves shouted, clearly distressed. "Hang in there! I'll find a way to defuse the bomb!" Hat Kid nodded, and the two continued fighting the Conductor for around a minute, until the DJ pulled out a giant pair of scissors.

"My defuser is ready! Come here!" He yelled to the girl, and she ran toward him.

**10 seconds until self destruct. 9... 8... 7...**

Hat Kid bolted like mad toward the penguin, and the Conductor tried getting in her way, but failed. She ran under the scissors, which clamped close, destroying the fuse and powering the bomb down. The Conductor was purely enraged. Now DJ Peck Neck had showed up and ruined his fun. Great.

"That's it! Time to bring out... THE BIG GUNS!" He shouted, then four Express Owls jumped down from the rafters, holding knives, and the bird shouted at them to chase after Bow Kid while he personally dealt with Hat Kid.

The owls nodded, and began chasing the little girl, as the Conductor began attacking Hat Kid. However, Bow Kid tripped and her umbrella fell and rolled over to the corner of the room, and she got up just before the lead owl stabbed her.

Hat Kid was tired. This fight had been going on for way too long, and the bomb had drained her energy, both mentally and physically. The bird noticed she was tired, and tripped her, and she fell on her face with a grunt. She got up, but the bird backhanded her in the face, causing her hat to fly off and her to be sent flying backwards into the wall. She got up, but the world seemed to be spinning. The Conductor pulled out his trusty knife and prepared to end the girl's life once and for all.

Bow Kid called out to Hat Kid, who barely seemed to register the shout, and she scanned to see any possible options. Her umbrella was far out of reach, and she wouldn't have time to grab it. She could try attacking the bird with her fists, but that would only hurt her and frustrate him. She turned to her captain, and a tear fell down her cheek. Her captain was the nicest person she'd ever met. She risked her life to save hers, and had always been kind and forgiving to her. She didn't deserve this. Bow Kid then realized what she needed to do.

It was time to repay her captain for all she did.

Hat Kid barely saw the knife come toward her, and she shut her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs, as the sound of metal piercing flesh filled the arena, silencing everyone.

But, strangely, no pain came. She opened one eye, and stared in horror at the sight.

Her first officer had gotten between the two, and was staring blankly at her, with the knife stuck through her abdomen, staining her clothes crimson red. Bow Kid began falling backwards, and Hat Kid ran up to her and held her in her arms, tears streaming down her face.

"Why?" She asked melancholically. "Why did you do that?"

Bow Kid smiled weakly and put her hands to her captain's face, wiping away her tears. "Ever since I met you, you've done so many good things to me and everyone I've seen. You don't deserve this." She explained peacefully. "You're also so much stronger than I am. You'll get over my death, but if I lost you and knew I could've saved you, I'd never forgive myself."

"Y-you don't know that." Hat Kid tried explaining. "You're not going to die, you can't! I need you!" Bow Kid simply smiled again.

"Until we meet again," She said, then her arms fell down and her head rolled back, but her eyes stayed open. That only meant one thing.

"No... no! NO! BOW! PLEASE!" Hat Kid shouted. "Please wake up! **PLEASE!**" She tried tapping her face and shaking her, but no response. "No..." She said quietly, in despair. She then began crying quietly, which turned into sobbing, which then turned into bawling loudly.

"**CONDUCTOR!**" DJ Grooves shouted at the top of his lungs, and tried charging at the peck neck, but was stopped by the knife-wielding Express Owls, who pinned him down.

The Conductor could not believe what just happened. He did the only thing he thought was appropriate for the situation. He began snickering, which turned into chuckling, which turned into full-bellied laughter. Hat Kid, confused, turned to him, who grinned evilly.

"What a stupid lil' girl! I was going to kill the both of ye anyway!" He began mockingly. "All she did was make MY job easier! What an idiotic peck neck!" He then cackled maniacally.

Hat Kid heard this, and new emotions welled up in her mind. It was all too much for her. All the emotions she had built up throughout her life...

She let them out.

And the results were like a bomb went off.


	17. Chapter 16: Avenger

Chapter 16: Avenger

**A/N: Now you understand what I meant by one peck of a time! AND I left y'all on a cliffhanger! True evil right here! This ain't over yet, though! Also, yeah, two chapters in one day again, whoop de doo.**

She let out an unholy screech as she began seeing red. She stood up, and began shaking uncontrollably, then slowly turned to the Conductor, with a look on her face that sent chills down the bird's spine.

"**You're going to die for that!**" She screamed at the bird.

The Conductor huffed. "Well, if I'm gonna die, ye better not believe that I'll go down without a fight!" He shouted in response. The two adversaries clashed umbrella to knife, and began brawling.

Hat Kid had newfound strength from her undying will to avenge her fallen companion, and easily overpowered the bird. She body slammed him down into the ground and charged at him, roundhouse kicking him into the stage, where he fell down and stayed. He dropped his knife before he hit the stage, and Hat Kid picked it up, and felt the back of it to make sure it wasn't rubber, smiling evilly when she found out it was metal.

"I told you, you'd die for that." She told the bird, who tried backing away, but she jumped on him, pinning him down, and raised the knife. "Say 'hi' to Bow for me if you see her." The Conductor screamed, when a shout pierced the arena.

"_**DARLING!**_" DJ Grooves shouted. "She's still breathing!"

Hearing this, Hat Kid stopped, and dropped the knife to the floor with a clang. She ran over to the bleeding girl, who had Moon Penguins around her, and DJ Grooves had taken off his own coat and placed it on the wound to get it to stop bleeding.

The Conductor had gotten up, and walked toward the group, still crazed by the Time Piece. "Ye should've killed me!" He shouted mockingly, and tried punching Hat Kid, who dodged easily, and whacked him so hard with the umbrella he went flying through the stage, breaking it in two, knocking him out cold.

Two penguins came in to the room with a stretcher, and they lifted Bow Kid on the stretcher, and she woke up with a groan, to see herself on a stretcher with her captain standing next to her, then saw the knife through her abdomen and remembered what happened.

"C-captain?" She muttered, and Hat Kid turned to her.

"Bow!" She shouted, then tears began streaming down her face again, and DJ Grooves ran up to her and put his arm around her to comfort her.

"W-what happened after I lost consciousness?" She asked weakly. Hat Kid then went pale and scratched her head nervously.

"Umm," Hat Kid said uncomfortably. "I don't even know how to explain what happened."

"Let me do the talking, darling." DJ Grooves said calmly. "After you went out, we all thought you were dead, and the Conductor mocked you, and your friend got extremely angry, beat him up, and would've murdered him if I hadn't stepped in."

Bow Kid's eyes widened. She'd seen her captain angry before, but she kept herself controlled and never let her anger hurt anyone. The fact that she almost killed him out of anger shocked her. She then tried moving, but it aggravated the knife still in her system, sending pain searing throughout her body. She screamed out in agony, then felt her eyelids droop.

"Darling?" DJ Grooves asked concerningly. "Darling, stay with us. Stay awake, darling, please."

"Come on, Bow, you need to stay awake!" Hat Kid shouted, frenzied, then tapped Bow's face. "You can't fall asleep! Stay awake!" Bow Kid tried, but couldn't do it. Her eyelids began feeling heavy, and she passed from consciousness to unconsciousness, hearing her captain scream her name before she completely passed.

She woke up to the sound of beeping, and opened her eyes slowly. There was white everywhere, and a blinding light shining down on her. She then realized she was in a hospital, and she saw her distressed captain sitting there with her face in her hands, and DJ Grooves trying to console her, but failing.

She tried getting up, but the wound in her side exploded with pain and she let out a cry of pain, startling both the penguin and the girl, who both ran up to her.

"You're awake!" Hat Kid shouted, her words slurred, and Bow Kid saw the dried tears staining her face, and the bags under her eyes. "I-I thought I'd lost you" Bow Kid was concerned for the state of her captain, and shot her a concerned look. The way she was acting, if she was an adult, Bow would've assumed she was drunk, but she couldn't be. The bags under her eyes, she must be exhausted.

"How long have you been awake?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Uhh, I don't know..." She responded.

"Judging by how long we've been here, and the fact that you refused to go anywhere until she woke up, you must've been up for at least 50 hours, darling. You need rest." The penguin stated concerningly.

Bow Kid's eyes widened, and she looked at her captain. "Captain, if you've been up for that long, I'm surprised you aren't sick. Go back to the ship and get some rest." She told Hat Kid.

"No." Hat Kid said stubbornly. "I'm not leaving here without you."

"Hattie." Bow Kid replied, causing her captain's eyes to widen. No one's called her that since... "I'll be fine. You won't be without rest. Go."

"She's right, darling. Please, you're worrying the both of us. Go back and get some sleep." DJ Groovees commented.

Hat Kid sighed. "Fine, I'll go." She said, defeated. Bow Kid smiled warmly at her, and she turned to the penguin. "Can you at least come with me? To our ship?"

"I guess so, darling, if it makes you less worried." The DJ replied. Hat Kid then proceeded to walk out of the door, but stopped, turned around, walked up to Bow Kid, and lightly hugged her.

"Thank you," She said. "I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you."

"It's okay." Bow Kid replied. "You don't need to repay me for anything. I was the one repaying you." Hat Kid then slowly let go and smiled warmly at Bow Kid, who smiled warmly back. Then, DJ Grooves put an arm around Hat Kid's shoulder and motioned her toward the door.

When they got to the door, there were a bunch of Express Owls and Moon Penguins there, as they read the newspapers and learned that Bow Kid had been stabbed and was being cared for at that hospital. They began taking pictures of the sad penguin and exhausted girl. However, in the mess, one bird stood out, he seemed rather timid, and had yellow feathers. It was the Conductor.

Hat Kid noticed this and yelped out in alarm, and the birds cleared between The Conductor and the two, and DJ Grooves stomped up to him and backhanded him in the face.

"What are you doing here, you no-good pathetic bird-look alike?!" He shouted furiously. "You have a lot of nerve, nearly getting killed and deciding to show up here!"

"Ey! Back off, peck neck! I wanted to-" The Conductor replied, but was interrupted when the penguin grabbed him by the neck and raised him into the air.

"I don't give a damn what you have to say! You'd better get lost, you-you pitiful piece of trash peck neck, before I finish what she started!" He hissed angrily at the bird, causing Hat Kid's jaw to drop. He just swore. Twice. In one statement. She then thought of something, and stood next to the penguin.

"I'm willing to listen." She said nervously, and the penguin turned to her, and roughly put the bird down. He took a step back from the penguin, and knelt down beside the little girl, who flinched, and he took another step back. DJ Grooves then got between the two, and scowled at the bird.

"Let me make something clear. If you ever hurt them again, on purpose or by accident, then you will be the corpse prop in my next movie. Do you understand?" He barked. The Conductor nodded. "Good." He then stepped back, and the Conductor began.

"Lassie. Ye and yer friend are two of the nicest people I've ever met in me life." He began warmly. "I try to kill ye and yer willing to listen to me. I-I don't know what came over me, ever since that lil' mustached peck neck tricked me into believing ye betrayed me, something took hold of me." He began trembling slightly. "I-I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive meself for what happened, but I just wanted to come here and apologize to ye and yer friend."

He broke down and fell to his knees. "I-I'm so, so sorry, lass. I-I don't know how I'll ever be able to make it up to ye or yer friend. I don't deserve forgiveness. I should just be locked up in the birdhouse until me death."

Hat Kid took a step back, and DJ Grooves took off his shades in surprise. In all the time he knew the Conductor, he'd never apologized for his actions or cried, let alone both at the same time, but here he was, breaking down and crying like a baby.

Hat Kid smiled at the bird. He really did regret his actions. "I can't speak for Bow, but I know that wasn't actually you trying to kill us. The Time Piece was driving you mad. You wouldn't actually try to kill someone. So, because of that..." She said, then smiled and hugged the bird.

"I forgive you."

Hearing this made the Conductor stop, then cry more. He hugged her back, and smiled. "Thank ye lassie, oh thank ye. Yer just too kind." He said appreciatively. Hat Kid then stepped back and scratched the back of her head.

"I also believe I owe you an apology." She said uncomfortably.

"What? For what?" The Conductor replied, shocked.

"After... that, I got mad and tried killing you. I shouldn't have done that. So, I'm sorry." She stated apologetically. He then put his wing on her shoulder.

"Lass. Ye don't need to apologize for anything. I was the one in the wrong here. Ye were just acting out of anger and trying to avenge yer friend." He replied. She hugged him again, and he hugged her back, and they stayed like that for around a minute, until the Conductor noticed the shocked audience around him. He scowled. "What? Did ye suddenly become fish or somethin'?! Get outta here!" They then scrambled out.

"We should get going, darling." DJ Grooves said warmly. Hat Kid nodded slowly, and they walked toward the hospital door when they were interrupted.

"Wait, lassie!" The Conductor shouted, then ran up to her. "I believe this belongs to ye." He then handed her a Time Piece, and she smiled warmly at him. The girl and the penguin then walked out into the parking lot of the hospital, and Hat Kid grabbed Grooves' flipper and held the Time Piece toward the sky, and they took off into space and landed inside the spaceship.

Immediately after closing the hatch, Hat Kid slowly climbed up the ladder and put the Time Piece in the vault, then opened the doors to her bedroom, climbed in her bed, and fell asleep before she could pull the covers over her head. DJ Grooves tucked her into her bed and went out into the main hub, and went into the kitchen, where Cooking Cat was cooking something.

She turned to the doors, and was surprised to see DJ Grooves standing there instead of the two little alien girls.

"Oh! Hello! You must be that DJ Grooves person I saw on TV." She welcomed him warmly. "Say, where are the two adorable little alien girls?"

The DJ scratched his head. "Well, you see... Do you know about my rival, The Conductor, darling?" He said nervously, and the cat nodded. "Well, he found out about a little secret the darlings were holding and went crazy, and when they confronted him, he pulled out a knife, and was going to stab the little hat girl, but the little bow girl got in his way and took the knife for her."

The cat's eyes widened. "He stabbed a little girl?!" She shouted angrily, and the DJ nodded anxiously. "Oh, my, show me where that pathetic excuse of a person is and I'll tear him to shreds!"

"That isn't necessary, darling." The DJ continued. "After that, the little girl roughed him up pretty good."

"Hmph. Good. Hopefully he gets arrested for attempted murder." The cat replied furiously, and turned back to her cooking.

After that, the DJ went back out into the main hub, sat in front of the giant window, and sighed sadly.


	18. Chapter 17: Recovery

Chapter 17: Recovery

Hat Kid rose from her bed all of a sudden, panting, sweating, and crying. She had a nightmare, again. This time, it was that they were fighting The Conductor again, but Bow Kid made herself vulnerable and Hat Kid tried getting between them but they seemed to get farther away with each step. She put her face into her hands and began bawling.

DJ Grooves was still sitting in the main hub when he heard signs of distress coming from the kid's bedroom. Alarmed, he pried open the doors and sprinted inside, and saw the little girl sitting up in her bed, clearly distressed.

"Darling? What happened?" He asked, but she didn't respond. He then realized what likely happened and sat down next to the girl, putting his flipper on her shoulder. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?" He guessed, and she turned to him and nodded shakily. He hugged the little girl, who hugged him back. "Oh, darling, it's okay. It was just a dream. You haven't been sleeping for long. Go back to sleep. If you want, I can wait in here."

Hat Kid stepped out of bed. "I-I can't." She said sadly. "That was too much. I can't go back to sleep."

"Yes, you can, darling. If you want, I can get you a glass of water or something, but you need rest. Please, go back to sleep." The penguin said calmly, and Hat Kid sighed.

"Okay. I'll try." She said tiredly. The penguin then got her a drink of water and tucked her back into her bed.

"Good night, darling." He said warmly, then walked back out into the main hub as she fell asleep again.

She woke up later peacefully, not having another nightmare. She had a weird dream, but couldn't remember what it was about. She walked into the main hub, where the penguin was waiting.

"Good morning, darling!" He greeted the young girl happily, and she yawned.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked the penguin.

"About 10 hours. You slept like a rock throughout the night." DJ Grooves explained.

"I want to go visit Bow again." Hat Kid stated stubbornly, and the penguin nodded, and the two walked over to the hatch.

"Darling, how exactly do we get down?" He asked, confused. Hat Kid then grabbed the penguin's flipper and jumped out the hatch, opening her umbrella half a minute before she hit the ground.

They landed next to the hospital, and went inside. There weren't very many people there, so they got through reception quickly, and found their way to the room. Hat Kid opened the door gently, and walked inside.

Bow Kid was sleeping peacefully, but heard the door creak and woke up with a groan. She noticed the two and smiled at them. "Oh, hi." She said happily. She then looked at her captain, who looked much more rested. "You're looking better today." Hat Kid smiled at her first officer warmly.

"I could say the same thing to you." She responded. Just then, the doctor, who was a blue jay, walked into the room with a clip board.

"You're looking much better today," The doctor said in a business-like tone, then chuckled a bit. "You're _very _lucky to be alive. The wound pierced your stomach and you should've bled out, but the penguins managed to get you just in time before you went into shock and died. You did lose a lot of blood though, and we had to do a transfusion. You're literally a breathing miracle."

Hat Kid didn't know how to respond to the new information, and Bow Kid just smiled and scratched her head. "How long will I have to stay here before I can leave?" She asked the doctor, who tapped the clip board.

"It depends on the situation. If you don't have someone to watch over you, you'll have to stay here until you heal completely, which could be anywhere from two weeks to a month, or if you do have a guardian, you can leave as soon as you're strong enough to walk with crutches, which could be anywhere from two days to a week, depending on how fast you heal."

Bow Kid frowned. "I don't want to have to sit here for a month." She said, disappointed.

"Do you have a legal guardian?" The doctor asked, which silenced the child.

"Yes, darling. I'll be her legal guardian until she gets better." The DJ interrupted confidently, causing the blue jay to raise an eyebrow.

"Don't you have movies to record?" The doctor asked him.

"After the... incident, the studio has been focusing less on movies and more on clearing it's name. Journalists have interviewed the fiew witnesses of the fiasco, and have revealed the studio's secrets to the public, and the studio's reputation has gone from stellar to abysmal. It's an absolute freak show." The DJ said melancholically.

"Well, if you are going to be the girl's guardian, you'll have to do some paperwork." The doctor warned the penguin.

"Fine by me, darling." was his reponse. Both little girls were shocked by DJ Grooves wanting to take care of Bow Kid. Why would he want to do that?

"Why?" Bow Kid asked. "Don't you have anything better to do? You're a star!"

The penguin turned to the little girl and put his flipper on her shoulder, and smiled warmly at her. "Absolutely not. I have spent the majority of my life rotting away inside that studio, willing to do anything to beat the Conductor. It's time I spent my life doing something I actually enjoy and actually does some good in the world." He explained calmly. "I wouldn't rather do anything else."

Hearing this, tears gathered in Bow Kid's eyes, and she just said "Thank you,". DJ Grooves smiled again at the girl.

"My pleasure, darling." He responded.

**A/N: I hope y'all llook forward to the next chapter. It'll be a nice bonding moment for the two girls and Hat Kid will share her backstory.**


	19. Chapter 18: Memory

Chapter 18: Memory

DJ Grooves checked the time. He realized he should probably be back at the studio and helping out there, and that he needed to leave. "I'm sorry, darlings, but I need to be at the studio very soon. I'm supposed to be delivering a speech to help clear the studio's name." He stated apologetically.

"No, it's fine, go. I'll be fine." Bow Kid said confidently, and the penguin nodded, waved goodbye, and left. Bow Kid sighed. "Being in bed all the time is so boring. What are we going to do?"

Hat Kid smiled. "We could watch TV." She suggested happily.

Bow Kid blew a raspberry. "Boring! It's probably reruns of our old movies anyway." She pouted.

Hat Kid smirked. "Why not check?" She reccomended. So they did just that, and Bow Kid was right. On every channel was just reruns of Murder On The Owl Express, Picture Perfect, The Big Parade, and Train Rush. Bow Kid sighed. "Well, we never did get to see how well we did in these movies. Let's watch 'em!" Hat Kid said happily.

Bow Kid nodded slowly, and the two did just that for around 4 hours, until the doctor came in again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked in a business-like manner.

"Better" was Bow Kid's response.

"Good to hear. May I check the wound?" He asked again, and Bow Kid nodded and raised her shirt slightly so the blue jay doctor could scan the wound. "No signs of infection, the wound seems to be healing rapidly, the stitches should be out somewhat soon."

Hearing this made both girls smile, and the doctor wrote something down on his clipboard and left the room, then Hat Kid turned to Bow Kid, dead serious.s

"Bow," Hat Kid said seriously. "You know how, after... that... happened, you said I'd simply get over it?"

"Uh, yeah, why?" Was Bow Kid's confused reply.

"Well, you probably wouldn't have thought that if you actually knew more about me." Hat Kid responded sadly. "I think it's time I tell you something I haven't told anyone else in the Universe."

Bow Kid was very confused. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"I'm going to tell you my story." Hat Kid answered. Hearing this made Bow Kid's eyes widen, and Hat Kid sighed.

"Heather."

"Hmm?" Bow Kid said.

"Heather Harriet Starweaver." Hat Kid said. "That is my full name."

"To understand my story, you'll have to understand what I am and my planet first." She explained. "I'm a Time Lord, from planet 2XCAVB-a, or Planet Chronos, as it's official title."

Bow Kid's eyes widened again. "A-a Time Lord? Like... an immortal being that controls time?"

Hat Kid blushed slightly. "Nonononono, we're just called that because we created the Time Pieces. Our species does age a lot slower than humans, but, we're not immortal." She explained further. "In our planet, there are two types of people. Normal citizens, and the elite special group elected to search and handle Time Pieces known as Timekeepers. However, they weren't allowed to use the Time Pieces for personal gain, or they'd be executed. I just happen to be the youngest Timekeeper ever to exist." She continued explaining. "Also, once a millenium, the governmental group known as the High Council would elect a Timekeeper to be promoted to the title of CEO of Time, which meant they govern over the usage of Time Pieces and become the only person to be allowed to use their power as anything other than fuel. My parents were two of the most prestigious and succesful Timekeepers ever, but when they had me..." Tears gathered in her eyes. "T-they didn't want me to get in their way, so they abandoned me. Left me to die in a dark alleyway as a baby, with nothing but my clothes and birth certificate."

Bow Kid felt a kind of anger she'd never felt before. She'd felt angry before, mainly when she and her captain argued, but this... This was a whole new level of rage. She'd find her pathetic excuses for parents, and she would whack them with her umbrella so hard they'd fly over the surface of the planet and land where they started.

"Shortly after they left me, someone found me in the alleyway with my birth certificate, and raised me by hand." She narrated further. "This wasn't just a normal citizen, though. This was the CEO of Time who found me. Tim, last CEO of Time. He raised me as his own adoptive daughter, and he was the one who trained me and helped me become the youngest Timekeeper. He also taught me how to fly a spaceship, and built the very spaceship we live in today."

"So, why did you leave?" Bow Kid asked, and Hat Ki-Heather sighed sadly.

"I got careless, and took the Time Pieces for granted, and didn't really follow up on my oath to protect them with my life. Someone stole some Time Pieces from me, right from under my nose, and used them to enslave my people and rule the planet." She explained, and tears began streaming down her face. "My guardian sacrificed himself to get me off the planet safely instead of having me live a life of suffering and slavery. That's why I didn't want to lose you, too. If another person ended their life just to save mine, I would'nt have been able to forgive myself for letting it happen and would've probably joined them."

Bow Kid put her hand on her captain's shoulder and smiled reassuringly at her, but she just buried her face in her hands. "It's my fault my people are suffering. The few people that escaped were told to meet up at a refuge planet, and I have to go there, because everyone I know is either dead or thinks I'm dead. I have to go there and help, and maybe... Just maybe, help them take back our old planet." She finished sadly, and Bow Kid gave her a concerned look.

"It isn't your fault. You may be smart, strong, and talented, but you're still just a girl. You can't do twenty things at once, and either way, if the person didn't steal from you he or she probably would've stolen from another Timekeeper." She explained reassuringly, and Heather looked at her and smiled weakly.

"Y-you're right... But still, if I had paid more attention this could've been prevented or postponed." She said sadly.

"But it would've happened anyway, so don't be so hard on yourself." Bow Kid expained, and her captain nodded.

"Thank you." Heather said appreciatively, and they smiled at eachother.

"Considering you told me your name and all, it's only fair I told you mine." Bow Kid said calmly. "Back then I didn't know why my planet exploded, but I think I know why now." Heather turned to her first officer, confused. "My parents also didn't love me, and abandoned me before they could even give me a name. I was raised by a random old man who raised me less as a parent and more simply as a guardian, because it felt wrong for him to just ignore it. He never named me, so I was simply known as Bow Kid to everyone that knew me." She explained. "My people... weren't exactly the greatest of people, from what I can remember, and from what the old man told me. Our society was plagued with corruption, selfishness, and greed, and our planet's economy came mostly from mining. Our planet was filled to the brim with all sorts of rare minerals, and the core of our planet was made from the extremely rare and useful metal Orichalcum. So, when we discovered ways to make mining devices that could handle the heat and pressure of the core, you can probably guess what we did."

Heather turned pale, putting two and two together. "Your people extracted parts of the core, which damaged it, turning the planet unstable and causing it to explode." She guessed gravely, and Bow Kid nodded sadly.

"Our people weren't as advanced as your people, we didn't have spaceships and everything. No one was able to flee the planet, except me." Bow Kid said melancholically. "I'm the last of my kind." She sighed and turned over on her side.

"Well, if there was only one person I could've saved from that doomed planet, I'm glad it was you." Heather said warmly, and Bow Kid smiled warmly. "Knowing you, I would've never guessed your people were corrupt. You're the best person I've ever known."

The two girls looked at eachother, then hugged eachother lightly. It must've been only fate that these two little girls both lost their homes and found eachother.

**A/N: There you have it. A nice little bonding chapter between the two little girls and you get to learn more about them. What could be better? Next chapter will be the beginning of Subcon Forest.**


	20. Chapter 19: Obligations

Chapter 19: Obligations

**A/N: Now, time for the two chapters I'm looking forward to writing the least amount. At least I get to write about Snatcher. That's a bonus, I guess. But, let me know if you want me to refer to Hat Kid as Hat Kid or the name I gave her. Either way's fine with me, it's what you guys prefer that matters.**

Multiple weeks had passed since Heather and Bow had their little bonding moment. Bow Kid was fully healed and her stitches were going to be removed, and she had her full strength back, so they decided they were going to explore into a new area today.

Heather was excited. Today was the day Bow was going to be released from the hospital, but DJ Grooves said they had to wait for the doctors to remove her stitches first. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, they jumped down to the planet and landed next to the hospital, and went inside.

When they went into the room, Bow Kid was standing up, and waiting for them, beaming with joy. Heather ran up to her and gave her the biggest hug ever, which she returned.

"So, you're better now?" Heather asked.

"Yep! Stitches were just removed!" Bow responded, and jumped into the air, causing Heather to grin from ear to ear.

"Let's go back to the ship, then!" She suggested, then the two left the hospital, and the Conductor was waiting for them, again. DJ Grooves frowned, but didn't get angry, and Hat Kid just smiled, while Bow Kid tried hiding behind her two companions.

"Hello, again, lassie! I was told today's the day yer gettin' outta here so I came by to apologize to ye..." He explained, then pointed to Bow Kid slowly. "Formally. I can't expect ye to forgive me for what happened, I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness. But, I want to apologize regardless." He said sadly. "So... I'm so, so, so, sorry, lass. If ye don't ever want to associate with me again, I'll respect that."

Bow Kid felt uncomfortable, and just peeked over her captain's shoulder. Flashbacks of the battle went through her mind.

_"That's it! Time to bring out... THE BIG GUNS!"_

She cowered in fear behind her captain, who frowned. The Conductor seemed confused, and Heather motioned the Conductor to the door. "W-what? I-I didn't do anything! I just apologized!"

"She isn't ready for your apology yet. _That_ wound still hasn't healed yet. So, get lost." She said annoyedly.

"What do you mean? T-that wasn't me! It was that Time Piece!" The Conductor argued. "YOU were ready to forgive me!"

"Yes, darling, but she wasn't the one **STABBED THROUGH THE PECKING STOMACH!**" DJ Grooves shouted. "If **YOU **were stabbed through the stomach by someone you once trusted, would **YOU** be ready to forgive them immediately?!"

The Conductor didn't know how to reply. "I-I-"

"That's what I thought, darling. So, **GET LOST.**" DJ Grooves barked, and The Conductor left. Bow Kid walked forward, and sighed, and Heather hugged her.

"You okay?" She asked her first officer.

"Yeah, it's just..." Bow Kid replied sadly.

"You can tell me," Heather told Bow Kid, who just shook her head sadly.

"You wouldn't understand." She responded.

"Are you sure?" Her captain asked, and she nodded. "Okay, let's just go back to the ship, I found a new place to explore for Time Pieces." Hearing that peaked Bow Kid's interest, and the three returned to the ship.

The Bedroom had it's power restored, and they looked through the telescope at the dark purple forest of the planet.

"The ship detected signatures of Time Pieces coming from the forest. Seeing how you're fully healed, I thought we could go down there together." Heather explained to Bow Kid, who nodded.

"Sounds nice. Let's go." was her reply, and they jumped out the hatch down to the forest.

They landed near a giant tree with a huge mushroom on it, and saw a weird shadow person near them.

"Found your way here already? That's a shame," He muttered, which slightly worried the two girls.

They walked down a path, and saw another shadow person notice them and run away, which made them curious. They chased the shadow down the path until they heard rustling, and a tarp swept them up into the air.

They heard the shadow dude laugh evilly and mutter, "He's gonna _love_ this!" before running off.

"How do we get out of here?!" Bow Kid asked.

"Working on it!" Was her captain's reply, and they heard bats fly by and a boom that shook them, almost like some giant creature was stomping toward them.

Both girls panicked and began whacking the tarp frantically, until they felt the tarp rip, and fell back down to the path, which was consumed by shadows. They felt a presence behind them and turned to see a giant, lanky shadow figure roar at them. Heather stared at the ghost with awe, and Bow Kid fell down in terror.

"**AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!**" The ghost cackled evilly. "**FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS! You blew it! You've totally screwed yourselves! Nobody enters MY home and leaves in one piece!**"

Both girls began trembling. They've fought a lot of foes, but fighting a demon?! Impossible. The shadow then put his hand to his chin thoughtfully, then grinned. "**Tell you what, though! Hang on a minute! You get to live!**" He said evilly, and Bow Kid sighed with relief. "**That's right! Aren't you lucky?! Normally I'd just eat your souls and toss your bodies, but you're lucky ones! You just won the lottery, because I just happen to be missing a couple of braindead servants!**"

Both girls shivered at the thought of having their souls ripped from them and eaten in front of their very eyes. "**That's right! The old one got himself killed, his head popped off, and now I need a new towel boy!**" He explained further, and Heather stepped back. They weren't here to do some random dude's dirty work.

"**So tell you what! I've got a piece of paper here, don't worry about the details! I just need you two to sign here at the bottom!**" He stated malevolently, and the girls walked up to the piece of paper and examined it.

It read: Contract: Clean Out The Subcon Well. It then showed 3 objectives: Find Subcon Village, Murder The Fire Spirits, and Clean The Subcon Well. Heather stared disapprovingly at the paper. Murder the fire spirits? How, and why, would they do that?! The paper then stated: The following parts of the forest will be available: Subcon Village, and Subcon Swamp. Beside that were pictures of the fire spirits and the giant well, and it read one final message at the bottom: "I'll be keeping the following hostage: **your souls**, but keep anything you find on the way!"

Both girls stepped back. Ain't no way they're giving some shady demon their souls and doing their dirty work for no kind of reimbursement. Heather gave the shadow a stubborn look and shook her head no.

"**Come on, now. Don't make this diffficult! You don't really have a say in this. Sign the paper.**" The shadow replied somewhat patiently, grinning the whole time. Heather wasn't listening.

"I won't sign!" She said stubbornly, and the shadow scowled, clearly annoyed.

"**I don't think I made this clear enough. YOUR OPINION. DOESN'T MATTER TO ME! Put your name on the contract or I'll make your **_**DEAD, HOLLOWED BODIES**_** sign it for you!**" He yelled furiously. Heather trembled, clearly intimidated by the shadow's outburst. Bow Kid tapped her on the shoulder.

"I think we should do this." She said tiredly.

"I don't think so. We're giving away _**OUR SOULS.**_ Do you not realize how important that is?" Heather replied stubbornly.

"Yes, I do, but he'll kill us if we don't, and it gives us a chance to roam free around the forest and search for Time Pieces without being bothered. It'll be like making the movies, but different. Come on." Bow Kid explained.

Heather sighed. "Fine." She said, defeated, and both kids put their names on the contract in different lexicons, and the shadow stamped the paper, sealing the contract.

"**AHAHAHAHAHAHA!**" He laughed maliciously, and both girls contemplated their decisions. "**That seals the deal! We're in business! Let me grab these real quick...**" He made a gesture with his arms, and lightning struck the girls repeatedly, sending both girls into agony and seperating their souls from their bodies. They felt exceedingly empty inside.

Heather fell to her knees and vomited, and Bow Kid simply curled into a ball on the floor and began whimpering and shaking. The shadow seemed both amused and pleased by their reactions, and continued. "**Whoops! Guess these souls belong to me now! Don't worry, though. If you two finish your chores quickly, you'll have your souls back real soon!**"

Heather got up shakily and gave a glare of despair to the demon, who grinned in response. "**And, don't you **_**dare**_** forget our little contract! I've put it inside your hat so it'll **_**never leave your sight!**_" He finished maliciously, then vanished into the ground, revealing the path they were on before.

They were beginning to think coming to this place was a terrible idea.


	21. Chapter 20: Stranded

Chapter 20: Stranded

Hat Kid took off her top hat and peeked inside, and sure enough, there was the contract rolled up tidily and placed inside. She groaned, and the two girls set off along the path. They stopped when they saw some minions and ghosts around a cage of bones with an eye with a new yarn ball inside it, and walked up to a minion.

"Hey, newbies, think you can help us with this?" The minion beckoned the two girls, and they nodded. "See that strange skeleton cage thing? It's in our way and seems to be guarding those two cherries. See if you can find a way to get rid of it."

Hat Kid nodded. Typically she wouldn't be taking orders from anyone and would have thought of some retort for the minion, but not having a soul seemed to have a dominative effect on the both of them.

She picked up the one cherry, and tried blocking the skeleton's line of sight to it, but it seemed to find it regardless. She walked over to one of the ghosts and was about to ask it what to do when it was sucked into the cherry, turning it red with a zap noise, and it began rumbling and shaking.

Bow Kid was confused, and the minions yelped out and dove for cover, then Hat Kid realized it was a bomb and chucked it as hard as she could with a yelp, and it blew up before it hit the ground, sending a wave of heat into her face, and the ghost came back out completely unharmed.

The minions came out from their hiding spots and looked in amusement at the little girls. "Did you know the soft part of the fruit is sometimes called the flesh?" He asked Hat Kid, who nodded slowly. She then noticed the skeleton staring at the other fruit, and she activated it and threw it, and when it exploded, the skeleton cage disappeared, and Hat Kid grabbbed the yarn, imagining what she could make with it.

"Thanks for the help, newbies. Now, you should probably head to the village, the boss gets pretty impatient with his servants." One minion explained, and Hat Kid scratched her head.

"Ok, but where is the village?" She asked, and the minion pointed down the path.

"Just down this path, you can't miss it." He continued, and both girls nodded and took off. They reached the village quickly, but not before listening to a minion drone on about how gravedigging was a good way to get cash and ignoring him.

When they arrived at the village, they saw some trees hollowed out as housing, some ghosts flying around, some minions, and some foxes dancing around a campfire that themselves looked like they were made of fire.

Hat Kid heard a dinging coming from her hat, and looked inside, and saw the contract rumbling, and picked it up, seeing the 'Find Subcon Village' task checked off. She put her contract away and the two girls walked over to the campfire, but got stopped when they saw the shadow come out from the ground. He grinned at them, and Hat Kid sighed.

"**WHYYYYYYYYY HELLOOO THERE!**" He shouted obnoxiously, and the two girls just stared and frowned at him. "**You didn't **_**forget**_** about me, did you? Don't tell me you didn't forget about me!**"

Hat Kid shook her head, and mumbled: "Pretty hard to forget someone like you." Hearing this made the shadow grin like mad.

"**What's up? You working on any contractual obligations lately?**" He asked impatiently, and Hat Kid just sighed, and he frowned, and got right in her face, causing her to step back. "_**You'd better be!**_** Remember our little deal!**"

Both girls nodded rapidly, and he grinned again, then picked Hat Kid up by her cape and Bow Kid up by the back of her shirt, causing both girls to yelp in alarm, but he dropped them so they were facing the spirits. "**Check it out! Those **_**incredibly**_** annoying Fire Spirits are sitting right there, in the middle of my village. Their little dance is creating these INCREDIBLY annoying barriers that stop me from getting to parts of my forest.**" He said angrily, then turned to a mocking tone. "**It's almost like they're trying to put an end to me. **_**How. Adorable.**_"

He then faced the girls toward him. "**DISPOSE of them! I don't care **_**how**_** you do it, as long as they suffer for entering MY domain!**" He said furiously, then cackled evilly.

"I just have two questions." Hat Kid said, confusing the shadow.

"**Hmm? And what would these **_**questions **_**be?**" He replied mockingly.

"How exactly does one _kill a spirit?_" She questioned, and the shadow chuckled.

"**That's up to you to figure out! Not my problem!**" He said, then laughed again.

"Uhh, okay, but what do we call you? For simplicity's sake?" She asked again, and the shadow was able to stop laughing.

"**Name's Snatcher, kiddo. Anyways, back to work, troopers! This isn't a vacation, and I'm getting impatient!**" He barked before disappearing.

The girls approached the spirits, who noticed them immediately.

"_We want to die! Yayyy!_" The lead fire spirit said creepily. "_We want to burn bright, then burn out! Become a cloud of smoooke! Our bonfire needs more fuel, only the finest paintings shall do! Can you help us?_" Hat Kid nodded slowly.

Hat Kid heard something slip and fall, then a masculine grunt. She turned to see a distressed Mafia Goon get sucked into a glowing blank painting, which then showed a distorted 3D image of the Mafia. Hat Kid was horrified, but picked up the painting regardless and threw it into the fire.

"_More! More!_" The fire spirits chanted.

They saw a purple trail of smoke lead them to the next painting, which was on top of a tree, and showed an Express Owl. Bow Kid picked it up and tossed it to her captain, who chucked it into the fire.

"_Burn, BUUUURN!_" The spirits chanted again.

Another trail of smoke led them to a platform suspended on a tree, and showed a Moon Penguin. Hat Kid picked it up and tossed it into the fire from the platform. Some ghosts were beginning to become confused, and the minions backed away slowly. Helping the enemy, no matter their goal, did not seem like a good idea, a large section of the forest was already in a state of permanent wildfire because of those spirits' rituals.

The last painting was over by the entrance to the village, and was encased in a large block of ice, which a cherry bomb quickly decimated. The painting, oddly enough, showed the Badge Seller inside of it, which confused both girls, but they chucked it into the fire regardless.

"_Thank youu!_" The fire spirits chanted joyfully before the bonfire exploded into a pillar of dark flame, consuming the spirits. Hat Kid heard a dinging and felt a rumbling come from her hat, but ignored it.

"Burn, burn, burn, burn, _BURN!_" Hat Kid chanted maniacally, which concerned her first officer. Bow Kid tapped her on the shoulder and shot her a concerned glare, which snapped her out of it. "Oh. Sorry." She apologized quickly, then saw the Snatcher emerge from the ground.

"_**WELL DONE!**_** Please tell me they suffered. You two murdered them, right? I bet you both strangled them.**" He stated, and then both girls nodded rapidly, which pleased him. "**Good girls!**" He then cackled evilly again, then Hat Kid smiled hopefully at him, and he frowned. "**Don't think I'm done with you yet, though. There's more of these **_**pests**_** around my forest, and I need you two to take care of **_**Every. Single. One.**_" He explained, which made Hat Kid sigh in disappointment, then he took out the contract and looked at it. "**Next on your to-do list: Clean Up The Subcon Well. That's right, you're both plumbers now! Congratulations on your promotions!**" So they went from being exterminators to being plumbers. Is that really a promotion? He continued explaining. "**I also have some... other... work for you that I cannot do myself. And hey, as long as I need you, you get to stay alive! What a deal, huh?**" To please the shadow, Hat Kid nodded. He then thought of something, and grinned. "**But, enough talk! You look like you can handle multiple things on your plate at once! Let's get you two another contract!**" He stated, as two contracts appeared out of nowhere. "**Pick one, but only one! Isn't it thrilling to sign your life away?**"

Hat Kid walked up to the contract on the left and examined it. The jist of the contract was to enter some creepy manor in some icy cave and find out what was in the attic, and that the old village would be available to them. They didn't want to explore some haunted house, so they examined the other contract, which was to deliver mail to 10 of Snatcher's minions in the main section of the forest.

The mail seemed easy enough, so they signed that contract, and Snatcher stamped it, then both contracts disappeared. "**Good choice! Let's hope you're both up for the task!**" He said happily, then thought of something and grinned. "**You're looking for Time Pieces, right?**" Both girls' eyes widened and they both nodded very rapidly. "**I found one while haunting some poor soul. You can keep it, but this is the only time I'll reward you for completing parts of a contract, because guess what? I'm not legally obligated to!**" He then cackled and disappeared, then a Time Piece flew out of the ground and into Hat Kid's grasp.

Both girls grinned from ear to ear, and sighed with relief. So there were Time Pieces around here, and he was going to let them leave with them! Hat Kid held the Time Piece to the sky and Bow Kid grabbed her hand, and the Time Piece glowed as they began shooting up into the sky, but it stopped glowing and they plummeted to the ground with screams.

When they got up, Snatcher was there again. "**Oh, and, I'm not letting you leave my forest until all of our business is concluded, so that you don't slack off. I know I've got your souls and everything, but you have no idea how many of my servants have tried escaping their contractual obligations, so I set up a little barrier so that only people with their souls can leave.**" He explained, then disappeared again.

Hat Kid turned to Bow Kid, and they slowly walked back to the giant tree, and saw the Badge Seller. They ran up to him.

"_Hello again, young ones. It is rather a shame to see you here, of all the places we could've met._" He explained mysteriously. "_I can see you met my old rival as well. He does not take kindly to intruders, as you can both tell._"

Hat Kid was confused. "How do you know this place so well?"

The Badge Seller chuckled sadly. "_I lived here, in a past life. Before this forest became the way it is today, and before that... ungrateful shadow took over._"

"Oh?" Hat Kid said uncertainly. "If that's the case, what's your name?"

The Badge Seller turned away. "_You may call me simply The Badge Seller. Nothing else._" He said in an annoyed manner, and the girls walked away and lied down under a mushroom, where they dozed off into sleep, and the Badge Seller simply stared sadly at the full moon.

**A/N: Another chapter down! As you can see, I decided that I will refer to the girls simply as Hat Kid and Bow Kid as that is their official titles and what everyone on the planet knows them as. Also, it just seems odd to refer to Hat Kid as something other than 'Hat Kid'. Don't like it? Let me know. However, I decided to fuse our favourite glitchy merchant with another character from older versions of the game, for lore effect and whatnot.**


	22. Chapter 21: A Sinking Feeling

Chapter 22: A Sinking Feeling

**A/N: So, I've decided that when I finish this story, I'll write a prequel, and when I finish THAT, I'll write a sequel. However, don't expect me to reveal much, if any, information about it other than when to expect me to begin writing it. If you have any suggestions, feedback, or whatever, let me know, I'm all ears. (Or is it 'all eyes' in this scenario because it's typed? Idk) Also, as an FYI, most of the badges in game I'm not making real to avoid confusion and contradiction.**

When they woke up, they found themselves still underneath the giant mushroom, and Hat Kid groaned. Sleeping like that was not comfortable and they did not get much sleep. When they woke up, the Badge Seller was still there. Seeing as they had collected quite a few pons when they explored the village and the studio basement, Hat Kid walked up to him and greeted him.

"_Hello again, young one. Have you come to make another purchase?_" He asked mysteriously, and Hat Kid smiled. "_Which of my fine souvenirs would you wish to buy today?_" Hat Kid looked at what few badges he had that were relevant to them, and pointed at a scooter badge. "_The scooter badge, that upgrades your sprinting hat to a scooter, which is much faster and you can use to jump off of._" He explained.

"How much?" Hat Kid asked.

"_250 pons._" The salesman replied, and Hat Kid gave him the money and got the badge in return, and gave a still sleepy Bow Kid a copy of the badge. They waved goodbye to the merchant and walked away, but got confused as to where to go.

They saw Snatcher in the giant tree reading a book and Hat Kid walked up to him.

"**What's up, kiddo?**" He asked nonchalantly, and the girl gave him a puzzled look. "**You don't know where to go?**" She nodded, smiling that he understood, and he chuckled. "**You're supposed to be cleaning the well, kid. It's deep inside the swamp, but it's big enough that even a tiny thing like you can't miss it.**" He explained, slightly annoyed, and Hat Kid nodded and took off. "**Try not to trip and hit your head at the bottom!**" He then cackled evilly, and Hat Kid frowned.

She ignored the shadow's taunt and met up with Bow Kid, and the two took off for the swamp. Not wanting to get their clothes dirty (well, dirti**er**), they avoided the swamp water and stayed on the wooden platform. They saw a minion excitedly pointing deeper into the swamp.

"Subcon Well is this way!" He shouted happily, and the girls nodded and jumped to another platform. They saw the mud of the swamp shift beneath them as they did so, and they didn't even touch it. Hat Kid stared at the swamp, extremely off-put and suspicious. Something seemed... odd... about this swamp. Well, more odd than the rest of the forest. They decided they should stay out of the swamp wherever possible.

Seeing the girls' concerned expressions, a minion grinned (Or seemed to grin). "I've got a real _sinking_ feeling about this place, get it?" He said suspiciously, and Hat Kid nodded, extremely concerned. That was not good news.

They heard crackling and turned behind them to see blue Fire Spirits surrounding a blue bonfire on a platform. Seeing the two paintings nearby, they jumped up on the platform, grabbed the closest painting without touching the swamp, and Hat Kid chucked it into the fire.

"_More! More!_" The lead fire spirit chanted, and the purple trail of smoke led them to the other painting, as they jumped over the gap between the platforms, Bow Kid grabbed the painting, they jumped back, and they tossed it into the fire.

"_Thank you!_" All the fire spirits chanted, and the bonfire lit up into a pillar of dark flame that consumed the spirits.

"Become one with the fire!" Hat Kid shouted, and Bow Kid smiled a bit. Fire _was_ pretty satisfying to watch and mess around with, not that it was safe. They jumped back down to the platform with the minion on it and jumped over the gap to another platform.

"Subcon Well is this way!" Another minion shouted, motioning toward the giant well looming beyond, and the girls fell down onto another platform with another minion, who seemed fascinated, on it.

"They say if you ring certain bells..." He began, and motioned toward another minion on a nearby platform. The girls jumped over on the platform.

"...Objects from other dimensions come into focus!" He finished, and the girls saw one last large gap between the platform and the well. They were going to have to trudge in the swamp, like it or not.

Hat Kid double jump and dove over the swamp, but landed in it, and walked toward the platform beneath the humongous well. She felt herself sink and tried stepping higher, but sank more, almost like something was pulling her down.

She saw three weird arms raise from the swamp and circle around her, and she quickly climbed out of the swamp and onto the platform, and the hands went back down into the swamp. Wow. That is one clingy swamp.

Hat Kid beckoned for Bow Kid to jump over, and she dove over to the platform, and Hat Kid quickly pulled her out of the swamp before the hands could raise and try to ensnare her.

The girls wondered how they were going to get up to the well, and saw some green ethereal leaves on some trees that could possibly be climbed up to the well. Hat Kid tried brushing her hand through the leaves, but her hand just phased through them.

The girls then noticed a magical bell sitting near them with a strange dimensional/magical aura near it, and remembering what the minions told them, Hat Kid whacked the bell and a Dweller rose to life from the bell (They learned their official name from the minions,) and the aura increased as a large clang rang out from the swamp.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid looked in wonder as the leaves turned from ethereal to real as the aura passed over them, and they quickly jumped up onto the leaves and jumped on the edge of the well, wondering how they were going to get down.

Seeing no other way, Hat Kid took a leap of faith and jumped down, and got her umbrella out just in case the well was dry. The umbrella didn't open, and she splashed into the water below, saving her from certain injury or possible death. Hat Kid beckoned for Bow Kid to jump down and that it was perfectly safe, and got out of the water, as it was really pecking cold.

Bow Kid landed in the water with a yelp, and climbed out of the water. Seeing a room ahead of them, they walked into the room and some bars raised behind them, and both girls stared behind them in dismay as they saw the bars blocking their way out. Hat Kid groaned. It was going to be just like that video game she played once. Inside the room, they saw a giant block of ice, a dweller, and a cherry, and Hat Kid immediately knew what to do.

She ran over to the Dweller with the cherry, which went inside the cherry as it glowed blood red with a spark, and she chucked it as hard as she could into the ice block, exploding the cherry and decimating the ice.

When they checked what was freed from the ice, they simply found a wooden chest, which Hat Kid opened to see nothing but a piece of paper inside it. She picked up the piece of paper and read the one sentence on the note, which said:

_The Badge Seller was here._

Oh. So there was going to be a badge here, but the Badge Seller found it and took it. Hat Kid then looked around and noticed all the lanterns around the place, which could probably be swung from. She extended her umbrella toward a lantern and, sure enough, it clamped onto it and she began swinging from it.

She saw more lanterns to swing from near her, and acrobatically swung from each to each until she landed on top of a lantern and grabbed another ball of new yarn, and then jumped down and swung one final time to land on a platform with a button on it, which she pressed, lowering the bars.

They got out of the room and went into the other room, which was a large tall room with some platforms and pipes sticking from the walls. The room was also coated completely in ice, and had a single pipe in the middle with a giant cork in it. The cork was attached to a rope which hung down beside the pipe with a hook on the end that could be latched on to.

Hat Kid latched onto the rope, which uncorked the pipe, causing water to shoot everywhere. Both girls jumped on to the pipe which shot them up higher into the room, onto some pipes. They climbed a ladder and found themselves face to face with a giant strange spider, which Hat Kid whacked, and they jumped and swung over to some more pipes with a button on it, which Hat Kid pressed, lowering a ladder on the pipes they were just on.

The girls then swung back over to the other pipes and climbed the ladder, swung over to a small wood platform, jumped on some more piping, swung over a pipe and onto another pipe, jumped up onto a wood platform, used a pipe which spewed a large burst of air every few seconds to bounce them higher up into the room, climbed more pipes, swung from some lanterns, and landed on a platform near a cave with some cherries on it.

Hat Kid saw the yellow dweller in the cave next to an ice block and charged the cherry, and threw it at the ice block, shattering it. Both girls felt rumbling, and the water shot out of the cave, carrying both girls with it.

The water blasted loose some boulders and filled the river of Subcon Village, which both girls landed in. Some minions cheered, some dwellers did loops in the air in excitement, and a Time Piece flew out of the river and onto a bridge.

"Can we take that?" Hat Kid asked a minion.

"Go ahead, newbie, it's yours." He said in delight, and Hat Kid grabbed it with a grin. Another Time Piece down. Bow Kid ran up to her captain, who smiled at her.

"What now?" She asked, and her captain smiled.

"Time to do some Mail Delivery, I guess." Hat Kid said with confidence. "How bad can that possibly be?"


	23. Chapter 22: Oh, it's you

Chapter 22: Oh, it's you.

**A/N: Sorry I couldn't write yesterday. I was sick, in fact, I still am, but I felt decent enough today to write and couldn't sleep, so, yeah, I decided to write. Besides, this chapter isn't major or anything so I thought I could at least write this. Well, enjoy, I guess.**

The two girls used the Time Piece to fly back to the giant tree of the forest as the sun rose over the forest, and Snatcher was waiting there with a mail delivery hat on, to the amusement of the two girls. He grinned at them.

"**GOOD MOOOR-NING!**" He shouted happily at the two girls, who smiled in response. "**Are you ready to complete your contractual obligations?**"

Surprisingly, both girls nodded excitingly, which pleased the shadow even more. "**I'm not **_**heartless.**_** Every so often I sneak into mailboxes and steal letters, then deliver them to my minions. That way it's almost like someone **_**cares**_** for them!**" He explained, which surprised the two girls. Why would a shadow demon care about how his minions feel? Unless he truly isn't as heartless as he seems or tries to seem. "**But our last mailman has gone... *POOF!***" He said joyfully, doing a motion with his arms as he said the last part, causing Hat Kid to giggle. "**You'll have to do!**"

A gift box appeared out of nowhere in front of them. "**I've got a 'gift' for the occasion, although it requires a special hat to use! I hope you've got it!**" He cackled, then Hat Kid opened the box.

Inside were two scooter badges with the words 'RENTAL' on them, and the two girls picked up one each and pinned them to their hats. "**These badges are only rentals. I need them back before you two finish! Remember to put it on your Sprint Hat, or it does **_**ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!**_" He stated mockingly, then cackled.

"How do we tell who needs mail?" Hat Kid asked the shadow.

"**Your hat will show you a mail icon above all of the minions awaiting mail. Once you're both done, come back here and clock out. Get it?**" He responded, then Bow Kid gave him a confused stare. His smile faded when he saw they didn't get the joke but motioned for them to get their work done.

Hat Kid summoned her mail delivery scooter and threw a package at a minion, who took it. Both girls then sped off down the main path of the forest, looking for minions with mail icons above their heads.

They saw a few more minions awaiting mail at the turn in the path, and Hat Kid jumped over the broken bridge to where one minion was waiting for mail, and gave it to him. She saw the old snowy village of the forest and motioned for Bow Kid to jump over, and she did, and they were going to explore further when vines appeared near them, trapping them.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by a familiar void and Snatcher appeared from the ground and roared at them.

"**AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!**" He cackled malevolently. "**FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo-**" He then realized who had stepped into his trap. "**Oh wait, it's you two? I was kind of expecting a new victim to step into my traps. I've already taken your souls and everything. Have you even completed your contractual obligations yet?**" He explained, disappointed. "**Don't take it personal, kids, but stay clear of my traps. There's only so many times my voice can handle yelling like that. You're taking the experience away from other people!**"

Hat Kid smiled at the shadow, somewhat amused, and he thought of something. "**But since you **_**did**_** step in my trap, I might as well extend our business endeavours!**" He explained smugly, then cleared his throat. "**FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!**" He then did grandiose motions with his arms as he continued. "_**Oooh, you've stepped into my fooorest, and now you must pay the priiiiice!**_" He explained with a stereotypical ghost-like voice, causing both girls to start laughing, making him grin further, and two contracts appeared in front of them. "**Pick your poison! Which burden do you want to carry for the rest of your lives?**" He asked malevolently, and they examined the two options.

Either trash some stupid possessed outhouse, or explore the creepy manor. They decided exploring the manor would likely be the better choice. Oh, how wrong they would be. They put their names on the contract and Snatcher stamped it, then the contracts disappeared.

"**Not a bad choice! This one should be a breeze! You're leaving all the difficult contracts for the newbies, though, which is really rude when you think about it.**" He muttered, then grinned again. "**Whatever! I'm off! Smell you later!**"

The girls jumped back to the main road and continued down it, finding the minions awaiting mail and giving them it, easy peasy. In fact, it was rather ironic that this mission was one of the easiest missions they've done so far, they were expecting the shadow to put them through grueling, tiresome slavery that they would despise. Not that they were _liking_ being his personal servants, but, still, better than the alternative.

After all ten minions had their mail, they returned to the Snatcher and gave him his badges back, and a minion tossed Hat Kid a Time Piece. After that, they returned to the giant tree and talked to the Badge Seller, and bought a second badge pin.

They equipped their normal scooter badges and went back over to the broken bridge, and jumped over to the old abandoned village. Hat Kid grinned. All they need to do is explore some dumb, boring manor in an ice cave.

How bad can that _**POSSIBLY **_be?


	24. Chapter 23: Cold As Ice

Chapter 23: Cold As Ice

**A/N: I noticed that the length of the chapters is all over the place. Well, some missions are longer than others, and I like writing about one per chapter. So, sorry about that. I'm still sick but I'm feeling better today so hopefully I'll be better soon. But, you guys probably don't care, so, enjoy! :P**

They jumped over the broken bridge and landed on the other side, where one of Snatcher's minions was waiting for them, pointing toward a cave. "The Manor is this way!" He shouted excitedly, and the girls nodded and ran over to the cave.

Blocking the entrance to the cave was a large purple wall that looked like a purple version of the ethereal platforms they saw earlier, and a Dweller bell in front of it. Curious, Hat Kid whacked it, and as the magical aura expanded over the wall, it phased out of existence.

Bow Kid's eyes widened. So it's the opposite of the green platforms. Is there going to be a purple bell that makes platforms ethereal? She shook those thoughts out of her head and they ran through the wall before the aura shrunk, and found more dimensional platforms.

Seeing another bell, Hat Kid put on her brewing hat and chucked a potion at it, causing it to clang loudly, and they jumped on the green platforms, waited for the aura to shrink so they could jump on a purple platform, and hopped over the wall in front of them.

Hat Kid saw a cherry bomb, and picked it up, and the two began jumping on ice columns and made their way over to a Dweller, who activated the cherry, and threw it at a ice wall, causing the bomb to explode and destroy the ice.

There were two dweller bells and a large amount of green ethereal platforms on the other side of the wall, but the two girls whacked the bells and passed the obstacle easily. They landed on an arch of ice in front of another giant ice wall, with a cherry on it and a Dweller.

Both girls knew immediately what to do and Hat Kid blew up the wall. They proceeded forth and saw a giant, ominous manor in front of them, and both girls shivered. They were beginning to think they should've took the toilet, because not only was it _**EXTREMELY PECKING COLD **_inside this cave, that manor did NOT look like fun.

Wanting to get it over with as soon as possible, they ran over to the front doors of the manor, which were blocked by snow, and Hat Kid tried opening them, to no avail. Just then, she heard Bow Kid scream out in alarm, and turned around to see the headless ice statues in front of the manor come alive and chase them.

Hat Kid shouted out in alarm as well, and they managed to dash out of the way of the statues as they tried attacking the intruders. They ran for their lives to the back of the manor, and a cellar door seemed to open on its own, releasing an ominous noise that seemed to beckon them forth.

Wanting to escape the statues and get out of the cold, they ran inside the cellar. When they came to the bottom of the stairs, they saw themselves inside a large flooded cellar with barrels, a key on some crates behind some bars, and a ball of the new yarn behind a barrel.

Hat Kid ran forward, but was stopped when a nervous-looking minion.

"Hey, newbie! Boss told me to remind you, uhhh, you signed that paper about not using your hats while in the manor," He stated anxiously, clearly wanting to get as far away from the manor as fast as possible. "Yeah. Don't use them. Thanks."

Hat Kid pouted angrily and put her hats away, then the minion sprinted out of the cellar. The girls opened a door to another part of the cellar, grabbed the ball of yarn, and grabbed the key.

Hat Kid opened the locked door beside her, and began shaking. She didn't know why, but she had a terrible feeling about walking up those stairs. Bow Kid saw the anxiety on her captain's face and became nervous as well, as her captain didn't scare easily. Slowly, they walked up the stairs and out into the main hallway of the first floor.

Hat Kid walked forward, but the floor creaked under her.

"**WHO'S THERE?!**" Something shouted, as the world seemed to envelop in darkness and both girls fell to the floor and crawled backward in absolute terror. "**WHO DARES ENTER MY HOME?!**"

Hat Kid managed to get her bearings and went into another room, but Bow Kid was petrified with fear. She saw what looked like a dark figure shrouded in shadow walk out of a room and stare at her with blood red eyes, and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Hat Kid, seeing that Bow Kid didn't follow her, quickly ran out into the hallway and grabbed her before the demon could, and sprinted into the room, and the two girls hid under a piano. Bow Kid began crying loudly, and Hat Kid went pale, knowing that the figure could probably hear her.

She tried comforting and shushing her first officer, telling her it's okay and putting her finger to her lips. Slowly, she calmed down, and when they saw that the figure wasn't coming, they crawled out from under the piano. Hat Kid noticed a book with a key in it, but it was too high up to grab. They tiptoed over to the kitchen and saw a strange key inside the fridge, which Hat Kid grabbed, then tiptoed back to the lounge, and Hat Kid stuck the key inside the piano, which caused the cover of the piano to raise slightly.

Hat Kid climbed on the cover of the piano as quietly as possible, but it buckled under her weight and fell down with a large **BOOM!**

"**Come on out, we can have some tea!**" The figure said, and they felt a feeling of impending doom approach and saw the aura of darkness shroud the room, signalling that the figure was coming. Both girls hid under the piano, and the figure came into the room, but saw nothing and went back out into the hallway.

They crawled back out from under the piano and saw that the book had tipped forward slightly, and Hat Kid tried jumping up on the piano again, but the piano's legs broke and fell down, and the piano stool knocked over.

They heard the figure laugh and saw her re-enter the room, but there was nowhere to hide, so Hat Kid grabbed the key and the two girls bolted into the hallway and into the room that the figure originally emerged from.

Inside the room were ice statues and a locked double door, which Hat Kid opened, and the two girls ran up the stairs to the second floor. They heard loud, slow, footsteps coming from the stairs and knew the figure followed them, and ran into the master bedroom. There were notes and a torn diary all over the place, and a key on top of the bed.

Both girls read the notes and the diary, and learned that the figure was the princess-turned-queen of the forest a long time ago, and that her name was Vanessa. They also learned that she was obsessed over her 'prince' and that she hated that he went away for tutoring under the teaching of another woman.

That explains some of it. It didn't explain why she was a pecking shadow demon that lived in an ice cave. However, they realized they were getting distracted and tiptoed to the other room, which looked like a nursery room with a picture of a headless person on the wall, and a large gift box with balloons tied to it, as well as a train set on a table, and a self-rocking horse toy, which creeped out both girls.

Suddenly, an idea came to Hat Kid's head and she grabbed a balloon and tiptoed to the other room, and used the balloon to try and push off the key, which only tipped on its side. She then let go of the balloon and it flew over a candle, then made a noise like a tea kettle then popped, causing both girls to jump.

Hat Kid bolted for the wardrobe and Bow Kid crawled under a stool when Queen Vanessa came in, and searched for them. She quickly gave up and went back into the hallway. Just then Hat Kid noticed a mafia goon sitting in the wardrobe as well, clearly distressed and crying. She climbed out of the wardrobe and went back in the room to grab another balloon.

She then noticed the headless painting from earlier had a head now, and it looked eerily similar to herself, except it didn't have a face. Ignoring it, she grabbed another balloon and went back into the master bedroom and tried knocking off the key again, and it ALMOST fell off, but held on by the tiniest bit.

Foolishly, Hat Kid stomped her foot and pouted out in annoyance, then realized what she did, and both girls bolted for the nursery and hid under the crib. They then heard a loud **BOOM **and masculine screaming, and Hat Kid peeked through the door to see Queen Vanessa walking out of the bedroom with the key behind her, and facepalmed.

She shouldn't have left the balloon in plain sight. She then walked into the master bedroom and noticed the fallen wardrobe, and she saw the mafia goon from earlier was replaced by an ice statue of a mafia goon, and she went pale.

If she catches you, she turns you to ice, ending your life. But, they had no time to dwell on the fact and Hat Kid peeked out into the hallway, seeing steam coming from another room. They stealthily slept inside the room and saw the key sitting on the toilet with the queen taking a shower.

Hat Kid crawled forward, but a flash of lightning boomed out and the queen looked out to grab her soap, and Hat Kid crawled backward, barely missing the gaze of the demon. She tried it again and grabbed the key, but the queen noticed her and let out an unholy screech as they bolted into the hallway, and Hat Kid made it to the nursery.

However, Bow Kid didn't. She looked out and saw the queen holding her, about to turn her to ice, but she wasn't going to let that happen.

"HEY! OVER HERE!" She shouted, grabbing the attention of the queen immediately. "Wow, you really are hideous. No wonder you're alone and your prince left if you look and act like _that._"

The demon dropped the girl immediately and shouted at the girl. "**Foolish girl! What would **_**you **_**know about love anyways?!**" She hissed at her, then dashed to her, but she dodged and both girls bolted for the locked door, and Hat Kid unlocked it, and they ran up the stairs and locked the door behind them.

"T-thanks for that." Bow Kid said nervously. "You didn't need to save me, though."

Hat Kid hugged her first officer gleefully. "Of course I did. You're my best friend, Grooves even thought we were sisters! We don't leave eachother behind. Either we both make it, or neither of us make it."

Bow Kid smiled and hugged her back. They were startled by something bashing against the door, and Hat Kid saw a chest and opened it, revealing a Time Piece. She heard and felt rumbling and checked her contracts, and sure enough, the task was checked off and it said "Contract Complete".

Hat Kid smashed the window with her umbrella and the two girls jumped out and ran for their lives, making their way back to the bridge and back to the giant tree.

Just then, Bow Kid noticed how absolutely cold her feet felt and took off her shoes, and saw the bottoms of her feet coated in ice, very slowly spreading upward.

"C-captain?" She said nervously. "You might want to look at this."

Hat Kid, confused, turned and saw her first officer barefoot, staring at her frozen feet, and saw the ice slowly spreading. She turned pale and picked her up, and bolted inside the tree.

"Snatcher! Help!" She shouted at the top of her lungs at the shadow, who dropped his book in alarm.  
"**Kid, don't scream at me like that! I might accidentally kill you out of reflex!**" He barked, annoyed. "**But anyway, what do you want?**"

He then noticed how panicked the girl was, and saw that Bow Kid was in her arms, and that her feet were completely covered in ice. Although he would not admit it, his heart dropped.

"**What the hell happened?!**" He yelled at Hat Kid, who began breaking down.

"Sh-she caught her and I managed to distract her before she was able to completely freeze her." Hat Kid responded, completely distressed. "Please tell me you know how to stop this!"

The shadow grumbled. "**Nope! I do not! Either way, why would I help you?**"

"B-because we're helping you. Was your last contractor anywhere near as skilled as us?" Hat Kid explained, and the shadow put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

"**Hmm. You're right! Fine, I'll see if I can find anything, but...**" The shadow stated angrily. "_**Both of you'd BETTER appreciate this!**_"

Hat Kid nodded so fast that someone observing would've almost thought her head would pop off.


	25. Chapter 24: Eclipse

Chapter 24: Eclipse

**A/N: Bet you weren't expecting that twist. Time for a 'new' character to shine.**

Snatcher had assembled his minions and barked at them to search around the forest for magical spellbooks, especially books that had to do with ice magic. He was waiting in the tree with the kids, and had even sacrificed his chair so Bow Kid could sit down with her feet in a bowl of piping hot water when a minion walked into the tree, with a grave expression.

"Boss, we have bad news." He said somberly.

"**What is it?**" Snatcher asked furiously, expecting a new intruder.

"We've combed the entire forest, even near _her_ manor and even in the deeper parts of the forest, and we found nothing that had to with breaking ice spells." He replied gravely.

The shadow cursed out loud and turned to his minion. "**Well, find someone outside the forest that knows about magic, and bring them here! I do not want to lose another contractor so soon! Especially one as elite as them!**" He shouted, and the minion took off.

"_You said you needed with magic knowledge?_" Someone asked mysteriously, and the shadow froze and turned around. "_Well, I may be of assistance._" It was the Badge Seller, who was smiling.

The shadow turned to the merchant and stared at him. "**Who are you?! You're not one of my minions, what are you doing in my forest?**" He barked at the merchant, who smiled even more.

"_Oh, shadow, you do not remember your old friend?_" He asked, then laughed. Then, something clicked in the shadow's mind and he realized who the person was.

"**NO! I killed you!**" He yelled at the merchant, who laughed even more. Hat Kid walked up to Snatcher, wanting to know what was going on. The Badge Seller turned to the child.

"_Young one, you said you wanted to know my name?_" He asked, and Hat Kid nodded slowly. "_Allow me to introduce myself formally._" Suddenly, a powerful aura emerged from the merchant, as his mask fused with his body, his cane disappeared, he floated into the air, his legs vanished, and chains appeared around his now-blue arms. His eyes also began glowing with red crystals and orange circles, and Snatcher became enraged.

"_I am..._" He stated slowly, with bravado. "_The Moon Jumper!_ _And I know how to heal your friend!_"

The Snatcher growled. "**I thought when I beat you, I told you to get lost, Moonboy. What are you doing back?!**" He shouted, and the merchant was unfazed.

"_Oh, shadow, I mean no harm. I have grown attached to the two young ones, and only wish to help._" He explained happily. "_Now step aside, I am the only one who knows how to clear __**her**__ magic._"

Snatcher wasn't buying it. "**How do I know you aren't going to try to make them one of your puppets?**" He asked, and the salesman frowned.

"_You've taken their souls, their submission belongs to you. Even if I tried to take them, it would fail. Now, STEP ASIDE. I will not ask again. She does not have much time._" He stated, annoyed.

Snatcher huffed. "**Fine, but if you try anything I'll tear off your arms next!**" He yelled, and the Moon Jumper nodded, satisfied, and floated into the tree and picked up a flabbergasted Bow Kid, who yelped.

"_Relax, young one. It is I, The Badge Seller, only in my true form. You have no need to fear._" He reassured the girl, who nodded.

He laid her down on a stump, and summoned magical red strings from nowhere. Some of the strings wrapped into a ball around the girls legs and feet, which already succumbed to the ice, and the rest seemed to make a runic symbol around her.

He pulled out a book and flipped to a page, then read and muttered a line to himself. He put away the book, then stretched out his hands, and began chanting in a language the girls could not comprehend, and the strings began glowing, and looked as if they were made of fire. Bow Kid began sweating, and the Moon Jumper continued chanting, sounding as if he were insane.

Eventually, all the strings had burned and were replaced with a magical flame, and when the flames eventually disappeared, the ice around Bow Kid's legs and feet were gone.

Snatcher was shocked. "**Where the HELL did you learn that?**" He asked the puppeteer, who turned to him and grinned.

"_Oh, the ones who taught me of this certain ritual are people you would refer to as 'pests'._" He explained mockingly, then laughed.

The shadow thought about what he said and realized what he meant. "**The fire spirits taught you that?!**" He shouted, and Moon Jumper laughed.

"_Yes, if you aren't trying to murder them constantly then you realize they are actually very nice people._" He replied. "_Well, my work here is done. Farewell, shadow._" He then disappeared with a burst of red, leaving behind a shocked Snatcher, healed Bow Kid, and confused Hat Kid.

"Care to explain what that was all about?" Hat Kid asked, but got no reply, as the shadow was lost in thought.

However, they were all shaken from their thoughts when rumbling disturbed the forest, and he cursed under his breath.

"**Well, kiddo, looks like you're getting another contract!**" He shouted to Hat Kid tiredly, who gave him a confused frown. Bow Kid got up and walked around slowly, making sure her feet and legs were working ok, and ran over to Hat Kid, and a contract appeared in front of them.

"**Complete this final contract, and you're free to go!**" He shouted malevolently, grinning like mad. Something seemed rather odd this time. Snatcher typically wasn't this joyful, he SHOULD be angry and miserable, but he seemed very excited and happy. It put Hat Kid on edge slightly.

They looked at the contract. It was the toilet of doom contract. Hat Kid snickered reading the name of the contract, and Bow Kid grinned. Both girls signed the contract, and it disappeared.

"**Trust me, kids, when you confront that thing you'll know why it's called the Toilet of Doom.**" He said evilly, then cackled, grabbed both girls, and disappeared into the ground.


	26. Chapter 25: Trashing a toilet

Chapter 25: Trashing a toilet

**A/N: Yea, yea, last chapter wasn't really any progression but it seemed like a perfect time to reveal my plans for the Badge Seller and reveal him as Moon Jumper. I mean, The Badge Seller's theme is literally an updated version of Moon Jumper's theme AND the two look VERY similar, so I thought, well, if people like Moon Jumper and Badge Seller so much and if they're so similar, why not fuse 'em? But enough about that, enjoy!**

When the two opened their eyes, they were in the Subcon Village, but something was wrong. Pipes emitting purple and yellow magic were emerging from the ground and everyone was panicking, even the Dwellers. Snatcher grinned and pointed ahead.

"**The outhouse is that way! Now go trash it before I trash you!**" Snatcher barked impatiently, and the girls took off, crossing a gap by swinging across it along the way. When they arrived on the other side of the chasm, there were magical pipes along the path and cages hanging from the ceiling housing dwellers, and a large arena. Inside the arena was a pool of acid, and inside the acid was a living outhouse.

When they stepped inside the arena, it noticed them immediately and opened it's door, revealing a jumbled mess of pipes, and roared at them. Music began playing (they guessed Snatcher's minions liked making music sometimes), then it disappeared into the ground and reappeared on the other side of the arena, and began spouting acid bubbles at them, until it spouted out a bubble with an activated cherry bomb in it.

When the bubbles popped, Hat Kid knew what to do and picked up the cherry, and chucked it at the outhouse. Minions cheered, as they had gathered to watch the battle. The toilet howled in pain and disappeared again, reappearing farther away from the two, and sprung up into the air, and slammed down into the ground, sending everyone into the air and causing a shockwave.

Both girls got their bearings and jumped when it slammed down next, and jumped over the shockwaves, until it jumped into center and opened its door, and a horn blared out. Both girls heard clanging, and saw cages swinging toward them. However, Bow Kid noticed that it was making itself vulnerable, hooked onto the lantern hanging above it, and swung into the outhouse, kicking it in the jumble of pipes.

It howled again, and disappeared into the ground again, and spouted bubbles at them again. Both girls knew what to do and Hat Kid picked up the cherry it spouted, and chucked it at the boss again, knocking it back with another howl.

It then appeared near the entrance of the arena and opened its door, then snarled, and they saw in the background projectiles flying up into the air. The outhouse then jumped into the middle and sent out four bubbles to spin below and around the lantern, three acid and one water containing a cherry.

Hat Kid hooked onto the lantern and swung out into the cherry, and picked it up. She then threw it at the boss, who was creating shockwaves to try to screw them up, and it howled again in pain. It then jumped into the middle again and created more bubbles, five acid and one clean with a cherry. Bow Kid swung up into the circle of bubbles but misjudged her timing and collided with one of the acid bubbles, which popped, and she fell down with a shout. Hat Kid then swung into the correct bubble and threw the cherry at the boss again, which howled again, then snarled.

While it was occupied, Hat Kid ran over to Bow Kid and made sure she was alright. No major burns, the acid concentration wasn't high enough to be extremely hazardous. Just then, three cages with dwellers inside them lowered around the central acid pool, almost like platforms, and the boss reappeared in the center with a cherry above it, which absorbed all three dwellers, and turned giant.

The boss then jumped into the air and came back down on a giant _literal_ cherry bomb, with dynamite strapped to it and everything, and Bow Kid jumped on a cage and up on top of the cherry and whacked the boss with her umbrella. The cherry disappeared into thin air as she was knocked back, and the boss appeared near the side of the arena.

It then jumped forward, landing near Hat Kid, and jumped more, trying to land on the girl. However, she realized this and dodged effortlessly, and the boss tripped and landed on its side, and Hat Kid whacked it with her umbrella. It then jumped to the other side of the arena and opened its door, then a horn blared out through the arena again, signalling more cages to swing down. Hat Kid dodged out of the way of the cages and whacked the outhouse again, then it jumped into the middle and summoned more cages and a cherry bomb.

Bow Kid jumped up again onto the giant explosive and attacked it again, causing her to be knocked back and the cherry to disappear again. Hat Kid groaned. How long was this fight going to last? It's a pecking toilet! It then jumped back up into the air and tried landing on Bow Kid, who jumped out of the way, and let out a shout as she whacked the abomination again in the jumble of pipes, causing it to shriek in pain, and it exploded into a pile of splinters and shrapnel.

Out of the pile flew a Time Piece, which Hat Kid grabbed joyfully. The minions cheered for the two girls, and they grinned from ear to ear. Another Time Piece in stow and now they can leave. However, they'll have to find Snatcher and get him to give them their souls back, but that should be easy...

Right?

The two girls prepared to go back to the giant tree where Snatcher usually resides, and Hat Kid walked over to the entrance of the arena when a familiar voice rung out throughout the arena, and it did not sound pleased.

"**Wait up, **_**KID,**_" Snatcher said angrily, causing both girls to turn around.


	27. Chapter 26: Exorcism

Chapter 26: Exorcism

They saw an angry Snatcher waiting in the acid pool. "**Remember how the old contractor had his head pop off?**" He asked maliciously, and Hat Kid nodded slowly, a concerned and confused look on her face. "**That wasn't a coincidence,**" Snatcher stated seriously. "**It... popped off the moment he stopped being useful to me.**"

Hat Kid gave him a confused glare. Why would he mention that? "**And guess who else just became obsolete?**" He asked malevolently, and Hat Kid went pale as Bow Kid's heart dropped. "**That's right, **_**YOU**_**.**"

Snatcher scratched his head uncomfortably. "**Now that that possessed outhouse isn't bothering me anymore, and those contracts of yours are tidied away, I don't need you two around,**" He said awkwardly, and Hat Kid clenched her fists.

"So just give us our souls back and we'll be on our merry way!" She shouted angrily, and Snatcher smirked.

"**Besides, you didn't think I was going to let you **_**keep**_** all these Time Pieces, did you?**" He asked mockingly, which enraged Hat Kid.

"Yes, because they're **MINE. **They belong to **ME, **and me alone!" She shouted, infuriating the shadow.

"**They fell in **_**MY FOREST, KID! **_**They belong to **_**ME!**_" He barked furiously at the girl, and reached out his hand, grabbing both Hat Kid's and Bow Kid's hats and bow, which did not please them. He put Hat Kid's top hat on his head, and closed his eyes, focusing, then an aura of purple and yellow magic engulfed the arena, then disappeared, leaving everything behind in a black abyss, with only Snatcher's morphing face illuminating the scene.

"**Time you saw what I'm really capable of, kid. Say goodbye to those little heads of yours!**" He yelled maliciously, then they appeared back in the arena, but surrounded by a wall of purple and yellow flame. Minions were there, and heavy music began playing.

Snatcher's face turned into a single blob of yellow and he hunched over them, with energy shooting out of his face under her. Both girls dashed out of the way as a pillar of energy rose out of the ground. He then targeted Hat Kid, shooting beams under her, but she dodged each one.

He then put his hands down on the ground and minions began summoning beside them, and he began spinning and the minions followed his spin. They jumped over the minions easily, then Hat Kid tried hitting Snatcher, but her umbrella just phased through him. She guessed he was supposed to turn blue, but he wasn't.

"**You're probably waiting for me to turn blue, aren't you?**" He asked smugly, and Hat Kid gave him a confused glare. "**Sorry, kiddo, blue doesn't suit me. I guess that makes me invincible, huh? That's **_**too bad!**_" He then cackled evilly and blue potions began orbiting around him.

"**Let's try some of these!**" He suggested, and tossed them toward Bow Kid, who barely managed to dodge each one. "**Not enough? Let's try a thousand!**" He then summoned a large ring of potions and made them rain down on the arena, and Hat Kid was just barely hit by one, and felt the chemical explosion near her and the chemicals burn slightly into her arm.

"**Too many, eh? Let's try just one!**" He shouted, then summoned a single blue potion to hit Hat Kid, who simply walked away from it, and Snatcher seemed disappointed as he stopped the potion before it hit the floor. "**Wait, hold on. That one should totally have hit you!**" He complained, and Hat Kid just facepalmed.

He then levitated the potion over her head and made it follow her. "**Come on, give it a chance!**" He suggested, but Hat Kid dashed away before it could hit her, and it exploded. He frowned. "**You're kind of rude, aren't you?**"

He then summoned his minions again, and combined it with the pillar attack, but the girls were able to dodge it rather easily, until Snatcher disappeared into the ground and transformed into dark, dorky looking clones of the girls.

"**This is how you look! You're an idiot!**" The clones mocked, and although Bow Kid just got annoyed and ignored them, Hat Kid had a flashback and a tear rolled down her eye. She then snapped out of it and became infuriated, and swung her umbrella out at the clones, who jumped back.

The clones then disappeared and Snatcher reappeared in the center, and summoned many more potions to rain down on the girls. However, Hat Kid was still distracted by her flashback and took a potion to the face, knocking her back with a yelp. However, the potion didn't explode, and Snatcher didn't notice.

Hat Kid picked it up, and chucked it at the shadow, who was completely shocked by the action. He stared intensely at her for a few seconds. "**Did you just colour me blue with my own attack?!**" He asked, still dumbfounded, and Hat Kid laughed at how shocked he was. "**This can't count, right? Surely this doesn't count!**" However, the smug, victorious looks thrown his way by the girls proved otherwise. Suddenly, he became so enraged his ghastly fingers turned to talons and the hair around his neck turned to spines. "**That does it! **_**TIME TO DIE!**_" He yelled furiously at the girls, and sent three beams of energy into the ground.

They all appeared at the same time, throwing the girls off guard, but they dodged them regardless, and the shadow summoned more pillars of energy, but they dodged them easily. He then disappeared into the ground and rapidly emerged from it, knocking both girls into the air and sending out a shockwave.

They got up just as he submerged into the ground again, and jumped when he emerged again, going over the shockwaves. He repeated this attack a few more times before he appeared under Hat Kid and swatted at her, knocking her back with a shriek. She got up and whacked him with her umbrella, but this time it connected and knocked the shadow back with a groan of surprise.

He then summoned four pillars of energy, but this time, before appearing, he spun them around to throw the girls off, and Bow Kid misjudged where one beam would appear and took a direct hit, and she screamed in pain. To her, it felt like her skin was burning off. The shadow wasn't done yet, though, and shrouded the arena in abyssal darkness, and then winked with _his_ right eye at Hat Kid.

Suddenly, two Snatchers appeared beside Hat Kid and prepared to strike, and she didn't know which one to attack. She randomly swung her umbrella out and hit him, sending the arena back into light, showing that one of the Snatchers was a fake. He then summoned a large amount of energy and had them appear in order, chasing after Bow Kid, in a wave-like pattern, and she barely dodged the beams.

He then shrouded the arena in darkness again and winked with his left eye at Bow Kid, then appeared with a clone next to her. She had a feeling of what to do, and acted on it, attacking the one on _her_ right, and it seemed to work. It connected with the demon and the arena came back into light.

He then submerged into the ground again, and did his shockwave attack repeatedly, again. He did it for a longer amount of time, though, and Hat Kid barely dodged one of the shockwaves, before he appeared under her. She knew what to do, though, and dashed out of the way, then whacked him again.

He retreated to the center again, and put a hand down, then snarled angrily at the girls. They could tell he was growing weak. As a last-ditch effort, he shrouded the arena in darkness again and winked with his left eye at Hat Kid, but she knew what to do and let out a rebel yell as she whacked the demon in the head, knocking her hat off and shrouding the arena in light.

Snatcher appeared in a dark, empty area, panting, and in a pose that would be on his knees if he had knees.

Huffing and puffing, he spoke out to the girls. "**You're both such disrespectful young ladies,**" Hat Kid smiled smugly, defeating a shadow demon, that's one for the record books, and now he's calling them 'young ladies' instead of 'servant', 'slave', 'trooper', or etcetera. They walked forward. "**I feel... so weak,**" He stated weakly, and they continued walking forward, prepared to attack the shadow more to get their souls back. "**Please... have mercy,**" He begged desperately, and both girls hesitated. "**Please...**"

"**HAVE A SEAT!**" He yelled, as he got into both girls faces with an evil grin. He then made a bench appear and forced both girls to sit down in it. "**All these Time Pieces landed in **_**MY**_** forest. They are **_**MY PROPERTY!**_" He shouted at Hat Kid angrily, and a contract appeared in front of them. "**So, let's make a deal, young ladies. The two of you get out of my forest, and we never see you... again. How's that sound for a deal?**"

Hat Kid put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. Being able to return to their ship and explore the rest of the planet is an absolute must, but they can't leave without their souls. She shook her head sassily at the shadow, who scowled at her. "**Not a fan? Too bad! You don't make the calls here.**"

Hat Kid sighed and both girls read the contract. Its name was: Get Out. The tasks were: Get Out; and Just Get Out. On the side it read: 'The following parts of the forest will be available: None of it. Get out.' The pictures showed an angry Snatcher holding signs reading 'Get Out.' On the bottom, it read: 'Please, **take all your junk** and leave.'

"**Here, I'll even make it easier for you.**" Snatcher said sadly, and stamped the contract. Hat Kid sighed, seeing no other way out, and began signing the contract.

Wait a minute...

He already stamped the contract, so does that mean?...

Hat Kid went up to the top of the contract and scribbled the title, replacing it with: 'Stay and Have Fun' with stars, then replaced the tasks with: 'Be Nice' with another star, replaced 'None of it. Get out.' on the side with: 'All of it', drew smiley faces on the pictures of Snatcher and wrote: 'Stay' on one of the signs, then scribbled out the writing at the bottom and re-wrote it so it read: 'Please, be my BFF' with a heart next to it, then signed the contract, and Bow Kid did the same.

Snatcher was absolutely dumbfouded. Did she just?... Breach the contract? "**You understand** **that's not how contracts work, right? I'm giving you a chance to **_**SCRAM**_** kid! There's no catches or clauses this time!**" He stated desperately, and Hat Kid gave him a disappointed stare. "**What if, I give you your souls back? W-will that make you two leave?**" Hat Kid snickered. The Snatcher was so desperate and uncomfortable, it was absolutely hilarious!

Snatcher then made a motion with his arms and a purple ghastly form with a hat flew into Hat Kid and a similar green form with a bow flew into Bow Kid. Both girls sighed deeply. They felt relieved and energized, and just the normal amount of empty (They hadn't eaten in days, after all).

However, neither girl moved, and they both gave determined frowns to the shadow. "**Yes? No? Hello?! Are you there?! Why aren't you saying anything?!**" He asked irritably, and Hat Kid crossed her arms. Snatcher sighed. "**You're quite the character, aren't you? And a tough negotiator.**" He grumbled weakly. "**Fine, I'll sweeten the deal for you.**"

He then held out his arm and a Time Piece flew out of his hand into Hat Kid's. Both girls smiled, and he continued. "**Here, take my last Time Piece. If I continue to see you two around my forest after this, I'll be **_**VERY... DISAPPOINTED!**_"

Hat Kid then held the Time Piece to the sky, and grabbed Bow Kid's hand, but gave a questioning look to the shadow. "**You have your souls back, the barrier won't work on you anymore. You are free to leave.**" He hissed, and the two took off into the sky and landed inside the spaceship.

DJ Grooves was waiting there, and gasped when he saw the state of the two girls. "Darling, what happened?!" He asked Hat Kid, who sighed.

"Some weird shadow dude trapped us, took our souls, and made us do his dirty work and wouldn't let us leave," She explained irritably. "Then, just to make things even better, he betrays us and tries to kill us, but we found his weakness and beat him up."

DJ Grooves did not know how to reply. "Oh my, oh my, darlings do you need anything? Are you two alright?" He asked concerningly, and Hat Kid waved sheepishly.

"If you could make something to eat for us that would be nice. We haven't eaten in days." She suggested, and the penguin waved it off.

"Darling, there's already someone in the kitchen cooking for you." He replied, and Hat Kid remembered that Cooking Cat was here.

The girls spent the next hour taking showers and eating a steak dinner prepared by Cooking Cat, before they went to bed. They missed sleeping in an actual bed.

**A/N: Subcon forest complete, now all that's left is Alpine Skyline, The Arctic Cruise, and the TIme Rifts. Hooray. (Totally not sarcasm). I can already tell I am going to **_**DESPISE**_** writing about the next two chapters, at least they're the shortest ones in the game. The only part of the story I'm looking forward to writing now is the end. No, really. I'm looking forward to it, I've got something **_**special**_** planned for it. Oh, yeah, three chapters in one day again? Consider this making it up for not writing on... what was it... Thursday?**


	28. Chapter 27: No Time To Explain

Chapter 27: No Time To Explain

**A/N: Oh, joy, one last final rift before I begin the torment that will be writing Alpine Skyling and The Arctic Cruise. Yay. However, I will attempt to not let my lack of motivation prevent me from writing interesting material. **

Hat Kid woke up with a grumble, and crawled out of bed. She then walked down into the main hub, where DJ Grooves was waiting. Before the penguin could ask the girl if she slept well, an alarm blared through the whole ship.

**Warning. Time Rifts detected.**

Hat Kid pouted and stomped over to the giant monitor, which displayed three pictures, a blue rift in a pipe filled with purple mud, a blue rift on some strange tower, and a purple rift on top of Conductor's saloon prop in the studio.

She groaned so loudly it woke Bow Kid up. They couldn't catch a break for a single pecking day?! Both girls quickly got dressed and ate breakfast before going to the hatch.

"Darling, what's a time rift?" DJ Grooves asked Hat Kid, who gave him an impatient glare.

"No time to explain. Are you coming or staying?" She stated annoyedly, and since the penguin had nothing better to do, he jumped down to the studio with them. "We need to go to the Conductor's side of the studio for the purple rift."

Bow Kid stepped back. She did not feel like confronting him again, but Hat Kid put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. They went over to the yellow bird's side of the studio, sneaking around to not bother anyone or disrupt recordings. Strangely, they noticed he was missing, but ignored the fact and climbed up onto the top of the saloon prop, which had a floating purple ball on it.

Hat Kid turned to the penguin. "Stay here, make sure no one follows us in." DJ Grooves was baffled.

"Follow you in? Follow you in where, darling?" He asked, and the girl smirked and touched the purple ball, which seemed to freeze and rewind time with a burst of white light, and when the light cleared, she was gone. Bow Kid then did the same thing, leaving DJ Grooves all alone.

When they opened their eyes, they were back in the endless cave from the Mafia time rift, standing on a floating elevating work platform, and they jumped to another one, then to another one, and onto a floating pile of boxes. The two girls climbed up to a higher section, and saw a prop leaning over against a box.

Curious, Hat Kid checked behing the prop, and sure enough, a Storybook Page was there. They then jumped up to the Rift Gate and entered it. When they landed, they were on an actual floor, surrounded by water, and a pipe with a camera watching over it leading to a platform.

The girls ran across the pipe and jumped over the camera with ease, landing on the platform on the other side. Bow Kid saw a rift pon just outside the camera's gaze, and grabbed it. They wire leading to a power box attached to a floating steel girder, and walked across it.

Hat Kid jumped up to the next wire, but didn't notice the electrical bursts running across it and landed on one, sending electricity arcing through her entire body. She let out a small yelp and jumped over to a floating platform with a Rift Pon on it, then jump and dove over to the Rift Gate, grabbing a Storybook Page poorly hidden behind some crates in the process.

Bow Kid noticed a Rift Pon on a vent, and grabbed it, but for some odd reason phased through the vent cover and fell into the water below, which, strangely, didn't support her, and she plummeted down into the endless abyss.

She did a roll when she landed, minimizing the effect on her body, but still let out a groan of pain. Hat Kid then noticed a rift pon on top of a grate, and dove over to it, then dove back to the Rift Gate, where Bow Kid was waiting.

Hat Kid looked at her, but saw a Rift Pon and Storybook Page each waiting on a steel girder, and jumped on top of the one with the Rift Pon on it, then jumped down to the Storybook Page, and jumped back to Bow Kid, and they jumped into the Rift Gate.

When they landed, they were back in the warehouse of the studio basement, and the girls split up. Bow Kid went left, and saw a Rift Pon behind two cameras facing eachother, and jumped over the cameras, grabbed the pon, then jumped back.

Hat Kid then met up with her, and saw a gap between two stacks of boxes that seemed narrow enough to wall jump off of. She did so, and jumped onto a stack of crates with a Storybook Page on it, and grabbed it, and Bow Kid followed her up.

They then jumped over to another stack of boxes and jumped then dove over to the Rift Gate, which, unsurprisingly, did not open, and they went off in their own directions, Bow Kid jumping down and using her ice hat to spring over to a Rift Pon, and Hat Kid jumping on some sandbags to get over to another one.

When she jumped back across the sandbags, she saw another lone Storybook Page on a stack of boxes, and jumped over to it, grabbing it. She then saw a crate with caution tape that seemed to have a temporal aura around it, and blew it up with her brewing hat, revealing a Rift Pon.

The girls then climbed back over to the Rift Gate, but Hat Kid saw one final Rift Pon and didn't want to leave it behind, so she jumped over some cameras and grabbed it, then returned to the gate, and jumped through.

When they landed, they were on a floating platform with Express Owls patrolling around, with green platforms on some of the platforms. Hat Kid stepped on one, and it glowed green and turned on, and they knew what to do. They ran across the floor, grabbing almost every rift pon and storybook page, until they came to a Rift Pon too high up and too far away to jump over to, but there was a green ethereal platform between the two platforms.

Hat Kid thought of what to do and an idea came to her head, remembering the yarn she collected in Subcon Forest, and sewed a Dweller's Mask. She gave Bow Kid a copy of the mask and put it on, then focused, causing the eyes of the mask to glow green and emanate a spherical dimensional aura around the girl, turning the platform real.

Hat Kid jumped on the now solid platform and jumped over to the Rift Pon, grabbed it, and jumped back to Bow Kid, who was impressed. They continued climbing up the platforms until they came to a door connected to a power box, which had opened, revealing a Rift Pon. The two girls then jumped on some horizontal steel girders and jumped over to the Rift Gate, which opened, and they jumped through.

They landed in the area with the giant monitor and the chairs in the basement, but the chairs were kicked over and the place looked ruined. Hat Kid walljumped up to the higher level of the area out of curiosity, and grabbed the final Storybook Page. She jumped down and saw the Rift Heart behind a broken window, and dove over to it, and whacked it with her umbrella.

It bounced back, and Hat Kid hit it again. It bounced back more, and Hat Kid homing attacked it. It bounced back even further, and Hat Kid stomped on it, and the Heart broke in two and exploded in a burst of white light, revealing a Time Piece.

Bow Kid walked up to her captain, who grabbed the Time Piece, and grabbed her hand. Hat Kid then closed her eyes with a focused look on her face, raised the Time Piece to the air, and concentrated, causing the Time Piece to glow even more.

Rumbling was heard, then with a flash of white light they were back in Dead Bird Studio, with some confused Express Owls and a concerned penguin DJ. He saw Hat Kid's hair standing on end and Bow Kid seeming slightly roughed up and raised an eyebrow.

"Darling, what happened?" He asked concerningly. "What even _was _that thing?"

Hat Kid waved him off. "Nothing, we're fine," She stated casually. "That was a Time Rift. I'll explain later, we should leave now." DJ Grooves nodded slowly, and they went back into reception, and saw the receptionist walking back and forth. He noticed them immediately.

"Oh! Grooves!" He yelled with relief. "_And _his little stars! Something's happened, and we think you three are the only ones who can help with it. So, come with me, now." The three then followed the receptionist out of the double doors.

"Darling, what possibly could've happened that could be so urgent?" He asked annoyedly. "Is it an emergency? Did people get injured?"

The receptionist shook his head slowly. "No, no. It's not that... serious, but it is definitely urgent." He explained gravely, and the penguin raised an eyebrow. Why are they going outside the studio?

They then stopped outside a building, and heard clanking of glasses, laughter, and more coming from inside. Hat Kid realized it was probably a tavern. "Why are we here?" She asked briefly.

"Its... The Conductor," The troubled receptionist explainee briefly. "He won't leave the tavern and has been drinking heavily. The Express Owls became extremely worried and told me to fetch you three if I saw you."

Hat Kid tilted her head. "What are we supposed to do about it?" She asked annoyedly.

"Although he wouldn't ever admit it to anyone, everyone who's known the Conductor for more than a week has noticed how much you two mean to him." He explained to the girls. "He lashes out at anyone who tries to get him to stop, but we know he won't lash out at you, and will likely listen. It's the only option we have left, other than removing him by force."

Hat Kid sighed. "Fine, we'll go in and try talking to him." She said weakly, then turned to the DJ. "I want you to come in with us as well, but stay out of his line of sight. If you're here, he might, I dunno, become aggressive."

The DJ nodded and the three approached the doors, but were stopped by the receptionist. "Oh, and, if he gets out of hand, call us and we'll come remove him." He told the girls, who nodded slowly, then went inside.

They immediately saw the Conductor at the bar with a large glass of alcohol next to him. Hat Kid approached him, and surprisingly, so did Bow Kid. He noticed them instantly.

"Lassies? What're ye two doin' 'ere?" He asked, his words slurred heavily. "Thiss is no place for lil' girls. Ye should get outta 'ere before somethin' bad happens."

Hat Kid crossed her arms. "Conductor, you're drunk, you need to go home." He sluggishly waved them off.

"That ain't gonna happen. I tried to kill the both of ye, just let me rot away 'ere." He explained angrily, then turned to Bow Kid. "I thought ye still didn't want none to do with me!"

Bow Kid shook her head slowly. "No, I was still traumatized by the event. I didn't say I didn't want anything to do with you. I've had time to think over the past week, and I've come to realize that truly wasn't you fighting us." She explained calmly. "You do regret your actions, you gave her back her Time Piece, and you apologized. So for that, I forgive you."

The Conductor froze, then shook his head slowly. "Yer both such nice lasses. But, still, just leave me be. I don't need yer help." He explained. "Leave me to me own devices so I don't do somethin' I'll regret again. Ye said it yerselves, Grooves treats ye much better than me."

Bow Kid put her hand on his shoulder. "No. Don't you see? We care for you, just as much as Grooves. If you do something you'll regret, again, we'll get through it. We want to be your friends, and friends stick up for eachother in their darkest times."

The bird looked at the girl. "So, please, stop drinking, and go home." She said, a tear in her eyes. "If you can't stop drinking entirely, then at least don't drink this much."

He sighed deeply. "Alright, lass." He said calmly. "Alright. I'll stop, just for ye and yer friend." He then tried getting up and walking away, but stumbled and fell to the floor. Some people chuckled, others cringed. It was just then they noticed that everyone in the bar had come to watch the scene, and Hat Kid gave them an annoyed look, and they dispersed.

They tried helping the bird up, but he had fallen asleep. DJ Grooves came out from behind a support pillar and helped the two girls pick him up, and return to the ship.

When they got there, they put the Conductor down in Hat Kid's bed and turned off the lights, and walked back into the main hallway, then Hat Kid silently put the Time Piece back where it rightfully belongs.


	29. Chapter 28: Altitude

Chapter 28: Altitude

**A/N: For your information, because of how, well, (how do I put this...) plotless and boring the Alpine Skyline missions are (I actually like playing the chapter a lot, it has my favourite finale mission), I'm not going to put much effort into them, I'll save my effort for the finales of the chapters and the climax of the story. Apologies if that is inconvenient.**

He woke up with a groan of pain, and clutched his head. It felt like his head was bashed with a pecking sledgehammer. He slowly got up, and wondered just where the peck he was.

"Eh? Where am I?" He asked himself. "What is this place?"

He heard shuffling, hushed talking, and footsteps. Just then, the 'door' in front of him opened by its own and Hat Kid was there with a blank expression on her face.

"Oh, hello, lass. Can ye tell me just where the peck I am?!" He asked, slightly panicked.

"Oh, uh, come see for yourself," She told the bird, who nodded slowly and followed her out of the room, into a hallway, and was too tall to see out the windows. They walked through another door into a large room with a giant window covering one entire wall, and The Conductor realized he was in space.

"**WHAT THE PECK?!**" He shouted, causing the girl to jump.

Hat Kid sighed, and thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring him here. "You're on m-our spaceship," She said calmly, and the bird was completely baffled.

"Lass, bring me back down to the planet right now!" He yelled angrily, and she stepped back.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. At least, not without someone's permission." She replied uncomfortably, and the Conductor groaned.

"Oh yea? And just who is this 'someone'?" He mocked, causing the girl to be annoyed.

"Grooves, he's awake!" She shouted behind her, and the DJ sashayed out of the Machine Room.

"Hello, Conductor, darling. How are you feeling?" He asked smoothly, and the Conductor was mad.

"Why do you care, DJ Peck Neck?" He spat back, causing the penguin to frown. "I thought ye said ye hated me!"

"Yes, I know, but I wasn't in my right mind when I said that. I was just angry at your treatment of the little girls. Can you really blame me?" He responded, causing the bird to calm down slightly.

"I guess not," The Conductor mumbled. "Well, I want to go back to the studio. I don't like being here a single bit!"

DJ Grooves nodded, satisfied, then replied. "Fine, darling, I'll escort you down." He then grabbed a holographic umbrella from his pocket and the two jumped out the window. Just then, Bow Kid stepped out of the kitchen.

"Hmm?" She mumbled, but saw no one. "Oh, they must've left already. Shame."

"Don't worry about it," Hat Kid reassured her. "Besides, I found another place to search for Time Pieces, and I don't think it's going to be as... unpleasant... as the last area we searched."

Bow Kid turned to her captain, interest peaked. "Where would that be?" She asked, and Hat Kid tapped a monitor, restoring power to the Engine Room. They walked through the doors into the mess of an engine room, swung over a broken pipe, which strangely didn't perturb Hat Kid, and landed near a telescope.

Hat Kid looked through it down into the cloudy area of the planet, with five mountains jutting out from the clouds and one smaller mountain much further away from the rest. She motioned for Bow Kid to look through, and she did, seeing the alpine skyline below.

"Seeing how it's furthest away, I thought it might be best to explore that faraway peak first, see if anything appears," Hat Kid explained, and her first officer nodded. They made their way back to the main hub and jumped out of the hatch, plummeting toward the clouds below.

They landed on a cliff face with some lit torches, and covered their faces. They should've expected the wind to be this intense at this kind of altitude, but didn't. The girls took off and jumped up the cliff face, until they came to a wooden bridge being somewhat rattled by the intense wind.

There was a gate blocking their way, but Hat Kid saw a bell next to it and had a feeling. She hooked onto the bell pull and swung back and forth, ringing the bell three times, and the gate opened slowly. Hat Kid smiled, elegantly flipped off of the bell and landed, and then they continued.

They saw a stone stairway built along the side of an extremely steep and flat cliff face, and Hat Kid walked on it, and felt the stone sag slightly and heard slight crumbling below her feet, went pale, and stepped back.

She examined the markings and hieroglyphs on the stairs, and inferred that everything here must be ancient, which would explain quite a lot. However, she saw no other way out of it and continued forth, and made sure not to put all of her weight on each step.

Bow Kid saw the stairs supporting Hat Kid's weight and followed her. They ran up the stairs until a large spider like in the Subcon Well came down, and Hat Kid plowed into it, which would've been bad enough, but the spider span its legs around rapidly, turning them into weapons, sending her backward.

She quickly made sure she wasn't injured, because it hurt a lot, and was relieved to see only a minor cut. She whacked the spider, killing it, and they continued, but she stopped and froze when she nearly walked off the edge of some broken stairs and plummeted to her doom..

They have their umbrellas, but with such thin air, and because they wouldn't be falling from space, the umbrellas wouldn't work. She saw hookshot clamps spanning the gap and latched onto the first one, swinging across the gap and landing on the other side. Bow Kid followed suit, and they ran up the last section of stairs before they reached the peak of the small mountain.

They reached a dead end, seeing some skulls on pikes, statues, and a large screw-shaped statue in front of them, and wondered if they could get it to screw down, but didn't want to risk breaking it, so didn't touch it.

Hat Kid saw some wooden cranks sticking out of the ground and whacked one of them, causing it to spin down and click, and with a large cracking and boom noise, the statue screwed in slightly. Bow Kid whacked another wooden crank, and the statue screwed in further.

They both whacked the last crank at the same time, and the statue fully screwed in with a very loud crackling and booming noise. Just then, a rope decorated with banners emerged from the tip of the statue, leading off into infinity and beyond.

Hat Kid pulled on the rope, and wondered what to do, and the rope supported her weight and felt very stiff, so stiff in fact...

"It's a zipline," Hat Kid stated calmly, and Bow Kid gave her a concerned look.

"Yeah, I'm not doing a zipline," Bow Kid replied, and her captain turned to her and gave her a disappointed look.

"We've fought a crazed movie director, a mafia, a shadow demon that stealed our souls, became divas, solved a murder, and deactivated a bomb, and _this_ is where you draw the line? A zipline?" She hissed annoyedly, and Bow Kid became offended. "You've **JUMPED FROM SPACE** with nothing but an umbrella, for peck's sake! What makes this so intimidating?!"

"Hey, back off. At least I knew the umbrella would work when I jumped from the ship, and, with the other events, we didn't have any other pecking choices!" Bow Kid yelled angrily. "Here, the umbrellas won't work! We'll plummet to our deaths if we try that!"

Hat Kid smirked. "Yeah, if you try it with your _bare hands._ We have hookshots, remember?" She said mockingly, and Bow Kid scowled.

"Fine, but if I fall to my death, you know who I'll come back to haunt," Bow Kid replied, and Hat Kid rolled her eyes. Hat Kid then prepared herself, and latched onto the rope with her hookshot, and sped off into oblivion.

Bow Kid, shocked, followed suit. Hat Kid was awestruck when a blinding flash of light made her blink, and suddenly, she seemed to be in space, with the stars twinkling all around, but she could still breathe. It was absolutely beautiful and amazing.

However, when the two girls reached the other side of the field of stars, another flash of light revealed them arriving soon at the central mountain they saw from the telescope. Above them were **HUGE** statues of goats holding massive statues of logs, with giant golden bells hanging from them.

It was a beautiful sight, Hat Kid wished she could've taken a picture. However, they were distracted from their thoughts when the zipline ended and they landed on a cliff face, and they saw they were in a large mountain village. A person no larger than them covered in desert-like clothing obscuring their face emerged to greet them.

"Welcome to Alpine Skyline!" They said excitedly with another foreign accent. "We haven't had visitors here in a long time, please make yourselves welcome!" Hat Kid smiled at the warm welcome they were recieving. In the other areas, everyone just wanted them dead or gone.

Hat Kid jumped up to another platform and talked to another Alpiner. "Have you noticed those bright flashing lights in the sky? They started appearing recently after some _weird hourglasses_ fell from the sky. Wonder what they could be." They explained to Hat Kid.

"Oh, if you find any of those hourglasses, they belong to me, so, uh, don't steal them, please." Hat Kid said sheepishly, and the Alpiner nodded.

"In any case, I really wish they wouldn't be so bright. They're blinding!" They explained, and Hat Kid smiled.

"Leave them to us!" She exclaimed happily, and they nodded again. Hat Kid then jumped up to a small cliff face with a bird's nest, a telescope, and an Alpiner on it.

"These telescopes let you look at faraway peaks!" They explained to Hat Kid. Hat Kid giggled a bit. The residents of this land were treating them like tourists, and there was something funny about that.

Hat Kid looked through the telescope and saw an **ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE **stone bell with mold growing on it, with a pitch-black interior. The ship did detect a temporal signature emanating from that peak, but it seemed... distant. Like it was in another plane of existence.

She didn't feel like trying to ring a huge bell or travel between dimensions that day, so they continued off. They continued exploring the village, talked to the Badge Seller, who had nothing to sell (No one mentioned his little... moment in Subcon, they pretended it didn't happen), and Hat Kid saw a piece of yarn that had two colours: black and light green. She jumped and dove toward the yarn and grabbed it.

The yarn felt... special, so she examined it, and imagined what she could make with it, and gasped, then stared intensely into the yarn. "Bow," She said seriously, "Come and look at this."

Bow Kid, confused what her captain could be so distracted by, walked up to her, and looked at the yarn. "What? The yarn?" She replied mockingly. "What about it? Do you really like it or something?"

"No, dummy," Hat Kid replied jokingly, causing Bow Kid to grin slightly. "This yarn is... special. I can feel raw, unbridled magic power emanating from it like mad."

"Oh? What's it's power?" Bow Kid asked, intrigued.

Hat Kid stared at Bow Kid, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Judging by my examinations and what my hat showed me..."

"It can slow down Time itself."

Bow Kid raised an eyebrow, and Hat Kid continued. "Not even the Time Pieces can do that. They can rewind time, but they aren't powerful enough to affect the flow of Time itself."

"If it's that powerful, how much yarn will we need for it?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Judging by the hat, the power, and the yarn, we'll need about 32 yarn." Hat Kid answered. "But, enough about that, back to the task at hand." She put away the yarn and they ran around the perimeter of the village, talked to the locals, collected some more Time Stop yarn (that's what Hat Kid called it because it sounds cooler), found and blew a big horn, which created a soundwave large enough to bring Hat Kid off her feet, and questioned which peak they should visit first.

They didn't want to get burned again, so that eliminated the Lava Cake...

Hat Kid snorted. "How did they make a _cake out of lava_ anyway?" She asked herself.

"No clue," was Bow Kid's response. They didn't want to mess around with birds, so that eliminated the Birdhouse, leaving the Old Windmill. Hat Kid looked through the telescope at the ancient building. How did they make such a huge windmill?

She didn't dwell on the thought and they hooked onto the zipline heading toward the windmill, and they both smiled. For once, they're free to do whatever they want, there's no one bossing them around, no enemies to defeat, no people to protect, no movies to record, no contractor to be bossed around by, just endless oppurtunities at every door.

Thinking about their freedom right now made them both homesick.


	30. Chapter 29: Oxygen

Chapter 29: Oxygen

**A/N: Seeing how long each Alpine Skyline Mountain Peak takes to climb (Twilight Bell can easily take 20 minutes, whereas you could do Heating Up Mafia Town, Picture Perfect, or Contractual Obligations in, like, 4.), I might have to split one or two into two parts. However, I don't think Birdhouse or Lava Cake will take too long, but Twilight Bell will DEFINITELY be two parts. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.**

When they landed, they found themselves at an outpost. An Alpiner was waiting for them and told them that there was a horn at the top of the outpost, and Hat Kid nodded and took off, running across the bridge, but the bridge was so frail and weak the planks gave out and fell just after she stepped off, and Bow Kid had to jump and dive over.

They walked up a wooden set of ramps, wallclimbed up a wooden wall, jumped up onto a small cliff, then a slightly larger cliff with a tightrope on it, and ran across the tightrope, and when they jumped off, they were at the top of a larger cliff with a very large house on it, which must be for one of the large goats they saw roaming around the Goat Village.

They ran onto a wooden platform, saw another fragile wooden bridge, and, at the same time, sprinted across the bridge before it could give out, making it to the other side with ease. They then jumped onto a rock, jumped onto a wooden platform, ran up a ramp while avoiding some of the small crows, and climbed a ladder.

At the top of the tiny mountain was nothing but a tightrope, which they walked across, ran over some wooden cylinders attached to the cliff face, ran over to a rocky wall, jumped up the wall onto another platform, jumped onto a small house in the cliff face, jumped onto a large log, another cliffside house, and on top of a small mountain, and there laid the horn.

Hat Kid took a deep breath, and blew the horn, causing another zipline to appear, splitting the one zipline into two. Bow Kid gave a questioning look to her captain, who gave a confused look in response. "What?" Hat Kid asked nonchalantly.

"How do you get enough air to do that?" Bow Kid asked.

"Time Lords don't need anywhere near as much air as other humanoid species. It's one of the many genetic gifts we've recieved," Hat Kid explained, and Bow Kid nodded her head slowly. Hat Kid then saw an icy springboard and used her ice hat on it, springing her back to the zipline, and Bow Kid followed.

They rode the zipline again, but when they reached the Goat Village, they hooked onto the zipline again, and both girls decided to lean over to the left, toward the new zipline. Just as they expected, they followed that zipline, which took them to the top of a small mountain.

Hat Kid jumped on top of a larger cliff, with a bunch of purple flower buds growing near a windmill attached to the cliff face. She didn't know why, but the flowers felt... familiar to Hat Kid, and she did not trust them for a second. She examined one bud, and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She didn't remember why, but her insticts told her those flowers were no good.

But, they weren't in bloom, so she decided it wasn't worth worrying about. What was worth worrying about was making sure no one got their hands on another Time Piece. Hat Kid latched onto the windmill, which raised her up on top of the cliff, which had a large house, a goat, and more purple buds on it.

She saw some green ethereal pillars of rock to the right of the house and put on her Dweller's Mask, and activated it just before she landed on the now-real pillar, and jumped on top of a cliff, which had a stone chest with a goat face on it, and Hat Kid opened it carefully, making sure not to break the ancient chest. Inside was another Time Stop yarn, and she jumped down to Bow Kid.

Both girls climbed on top of the house and on top of a small cliff, which had an ice platform on it, and sprung off it, landing on a pillar of rock with a zipline on it, but strangely, the banners on the zipline were yellow and had red symbols of claws, claw marks, and cat faces on it.

They landed on a rocky platform, and hopped over to a tightrope, but were stopped by a concerned Alpiner. "Take care, kids. I went up ahead and got scratched slightly." They explained worriedly, and Hat Kid nodded.

When they jumped off the tightrope, they were in an outpost with markings of cats and claw marks on the rock face. They advanced with caution, jumping on a wooden platform, jumping on a wooden ramp, and jumping on another cliff, but something appeared out of nowhere and knocked Hat Kid back, and her head felt lighter.

The stealthy cat took her hat. "HEY!" She yelled angrily, and the cat disappeared with a smirk. However, she saw slight movement coming toward her, and before the cat could reappear and attack her, she swung out with her umbrella twice, hitting the cat in the face and sending them back with a hiss, knocking them out cold.

She put on her hat tightly, and they jumped on top of a chimney with a springboard on it, and landed on another large cliff with a house on it. Both girls saw movement and knew what to do, and counterattacked by dashing out of the way and homing attacking them. Both cats were defeated, and they proceeded forth, climbing a ladder up to another horn, and Hat Kid blew it.

A new zipline appeared on a small cliff back at the main windmill outpost, and they returned to it without being bothered by thieving felines, sprung back up to the house, and jumped up to the zipline, and rode it. They landed on a small cliff with purple buds on it, and a platform facing toward a very large far away cliff, with the massive, ancient windmill on it.

Hat Kid saw several hookshot clamps and swung on each one landing on a small cliff with a ladder leading up to the windmill. Bow Kid landed next to her and they climbed up to the windmill, and entered.

Looking up, they already knew it was going to be a long climb. They ran over to a large wooden crate placed against the wall, and jumped on top, then jumped on top of a platform. There was a large cart full of grain being pulled from one end of the room to the other, and the girls jumped on it, and jumped onto the platform on the other side.

They then jumped on top of a spinning gear box, jumped onto a gear, jumped onto a platform, and double jumped under a grate and up to a platform leading outside. The two girls then jumped on top of a vertically spinning cubed wooden gear, jumped on top of a cliff, jumped onto a grain cart vertically spinning on a gear, then jumped over to a platform leading back inside.

They jumped onto another grain cart, which carried them to another platform, jumped across a gap on a platform, killed a spider, jumped onto another platform, jumped onto another grain cart spinning on a vertical gear, jumped on top of a grate, waited, jumped on a grain cart, waited more, jumped on another grain cart, then jumped over an obstacle over to a platform.

Both girls were beginning to pant. They were going to have to have a long nap after this. They then jumped on another spinning cube, jumped down to a platform, jumped on _another_ spinning cube, and Hat Kid tripped and faceplanted down into the side of the cube, and almost fell off, but caught her bearings and jumped over to a wooden platform.

Bow Kid was laughing at the annoyance on her captain's face, who simply rolled her eyes, and they jumped on an elevating grain cart which raised them to the next floor of the windmill. They then jumped up onto a spinning stone platform and jumped onto a wooden platform, then double jumped and walljumped off of a rectangular metal plate onto some sandbags, landing on a large metal gear.

They used the centrifugal force of the gear to help them jump over to a wooden platform, climbing up onto it, then jumped onto a platform rotating around a large vertical metal gear. The two girls then jumped up onto a platform attached to the wall of the windmill, and walked along a narrow wooden platform to two grain carts, with a button on each. Hat Kid jumped on one button, causing the other grain cart to move forward a bit.

Bow Kid jumped over to the next grain cart, and pressed the button, and Hat Kid jumped to clear the log in the way and landed on the cart, pressing the button, but Bow Kid wasn't paying attention and faceplanted into it, and fell down, opening her umbrella just before impact to avoid injury.

Hat Kid latched onto Bow Kid's pocket and retracted the chain, raising Bow Kid back up to the grain cart. Neither girl said anything, but Bow Kid jumped beneath a grate and up onto the other grain cart, clambered up onto it, and Hat Kid followed before she pressed the button.

They jumped onto a wood platform, jumped up to another wood platform, and saw a moving wall of two vertical grain carts to jump off of. They were just able to time it right and use the wall to climb up to a stationary grain cart. They jumped to another grain cart and jumped over to a wooden platform just behind the sails of the windmill.

They jumped onto a springboard, which bounced them up to the third floor of the windmill, and Hat Kid looked outside. They must be getting close. They ran over to a large bucket full of hay and jumped on it, and saw that a moving wall of vertical grain carts stopped there, allowing for a timed wall jump.

They both executed the wall jump perfectly, and jumped over to a wooden platform attached to the wall. They then jump and dove onto a moving grain cart and jumped down on a thin wooden platform, which jutted out enough that they could latch onto a hookshot clamp and swing outside onto a cliff, which they did.

They climbed onto another rotating cube, and jumped back inside the windmill onto a wooden platform, then onto a moving grain cart, which took them to a platform leading back outside. They bounced off of a balloon and onto a cliff, then jumped onto a wood platform and wall jumped onto another cliff.

The two girls then jumped onto a spring board, which took them to the very top of the cliff, then jumped down to a small cliff, and when they landed, an egg seemed to rise and chase after them, and began ringing and vibrating. Weirded out and alarmed, they maneuvered out of the way of it and jumped onto a grain cart before it exploded, sending egg everywhere.

Hat Kid was dumbfounded. How... and why? They then jumped onto another cliff, walked across a bridge, evaded another bomb egg, jumped on a rotating cube between two cliffs, jumped on a wooden platform, climbed up a wooden wall attached to the cliff, jumped on more rotating cubes, jumped down on some small wooden platforms, then jumped down to the windmill, and re-entered it.

They jumped onto a moving grain cart, whacked a spider on the way, jumped onto a blue platform rotating around a metal gear, jumped onto a platform in the corner, jumped onto a wooden platform rotating around another gear, then dove over to another platform in the other corner.

The two girls then jumped onto another moving grain cart, which was moving diagonally this time, jumped onto another corner platform, jumped onto a horizontal spinning gear, jumped on a platform, jumped on more platforms rotating around more gears, then landed on a platform.

After jumping on another rotating gear platform, they jumped on some sandbags, landing on the main windmill crankshaft. Hat Kid grinned, they're near the peak of the windmill. They walked right behind the main set of sails and saw that each sail had a platform attached to it. They both waited, and jumped onto one, then at the peak of the rotation saw a plank, which they climbed up to the final floor of the windmill.

She saw the Time Piece, climbed over boxes, and grabbed it with a heavy sigh. She then put it in her pockets, then sat down for a moment to catch her breath, as both girls were panting heavily. She wiped sweat off of her brow, and the two girls walked outside the windmill and returned to the spaceship.

Hat Kid slowly put the Time Piece back in the vault, and the two girls walked into their bedroom, jumped in their beds, and dozed off immediately. The girls dreamt dreams both of the freedom exploring the area brings, and the feat they just accomplished.


	31. Chapter 30: Exothermic

Chapter 30: Exothermic

**A/N: I just realized that we're very near the end of the story. Now, I know, I have said I will be writing a prequel and a sequel (as an fyi I'm writing the prequel first), but, neither story will be very long. The prequel will be at best like 10-15 chapters I'm estimating, and the sequel won't be much different. That won't take **_**too**_** long to write, with the dedication I have, and I don't know what to do after that, so, please, if you have any ideas at all, let me know, I'd love to see it.**

The girls were woken by Cooking Cat, who was carrying two portable tabletops with breakfast items on them. She'd made them breakfast in bed.

"I heard you exhausted yourselves yesterday climbing some big old windmill so I thought I'd make you a little treat to cheer y'all up. Enjoy!" She stated warmly.

Hat Kid smiled. "Oh, no, on the contrary, we're exploring a new area and for once we're truly free to explore wherever we want! No one bossing us around, no missions to do!" Hat Kid explained sleepily, yet happily.

"Oh, well then, you two little girls can take this as a celebration, then!" She replied happily.

They spent the next half hour eating the breakfast Cooking Cat made for them, then got up.

"So, _capitaine,_ which peak shall we venture forth into today?" Bow Kid asked with a sillily exaggerated accent, causing Hat Kid to giggle.

"I dunno why, but I don't want to go to that bird cage one, I think it'll be full of those mean crows and explosive eggs, and I still don't want to venture into 'The Twilight Zone', so let's do the Lava Cake." Hat Kid answered, and Bow Kid tilted her head.

"Won't it be _super _hot? Like when _**she who shall not be named**_ tried burning down Mafia Town?" Bow Kid asked warily.

Hat Kid giggled at what Bow Kid called Moustache Girl. "Yes, but our ice hats should cool us down. Besides, we shouldn't be inside the Cake itself long enough to sustain major hyperthermia, so we should be fine. If we really need to, we can take some thermoses of water or something." Hat Kid reassured. "If all else fails, then today we can patch up these remaining Rifts and search the planet for more yarn. I **REALLY **want that Time Stop hat."

Bow Kid nodded, so they filled some thermoses with water, put them in their pockets, and jumped down to Goat Village. When they landed, they made their way to the fiery red zipline and latched onto it.

They flew through a lava-filled cave, in which Hat Kid admired the crystals and wondered whether or not it would be profitable to mine them. But, they flew back out of the cave just as suddenly and she ignored the idea.

When they landed, they were blasted with heat, but to both girls' surprise, it was bearable. To Hat Kid, it was actually somewhat pleasant. They jumped over a gap, bouncing off a spider to get to the other side, and talked to an Alpiner.

"This heat is great! It gets _even hotter_ to the right!" They exclaimed happily, and Bow Kid stopped. It gets even hotter?! She sighed then the girls bounced off of more spiders to cross a large gap, then latched onto a zipline.

"This way for the Lava Cake!" Another Alpiner explained. They seemed to enjoy telling people where to go, maybe it was a tradition or a hobby of the strange nomads. They landed on a smoldering cliff, climbed bales of strangely-not-burnt hay, climbed on top of a cliff face hut, and jumped up to another cliff.

When they climbed up the small cliff, they had to avoid two small crows and a strange crow wearing shades that moved much faster than the others. The two girls then swung off of a stationary windmill sail and landed on a cliff covered in the strange white flowers native to the mountains, but, unsurprisingly, singed orange.

They avoided more birds and walked across a tightrope, taking them to a larger cliff with two giant houses on them. From there, they jumped over to another cliff with a zipline on it and hooked onto it, sending them further into the exothermic mountains.

The heat was far greater near the base of the Lava Cake, and Bow Kid began fanning herself with her umbrella. Both girls put on their ice hats, but then noticed where they were. The girls were in a hot spring.

"This is the Lava Cake!" An Alpiner said braggingly.

"How and why would anyone make such a thing?" Hat Kid asked the nomad.

"We aren't sure why our ancestors made it, but, it must've been for a religious purpose," They answered calmly. Hat Kid nodded slowly, and jumped behind the nomad onto a sinking pillar, and jumped up to the next cliff. Bow Kid waited for the pillar to raise again and followed suit.

"I hope there aren't any sinking platforms inside the cake," Bow Kid said nervously, and Hat Kid nodded. That would spike anyone's anxiety, as death by lava is surely the most painful form of death imaginable.

They jumped onto another sinking and raising platform, and jumped onto a final cliff with a steam cannon on it.

Hat Kid said one thing, "Showtime." Bow Kid nodded uncertainly, and both girls jumped inside the cannon, which shot them into the cake. When they landed, they were absolutely blasted with heat and both girls gasped in surprise. "I may have underestimated how hot it would be to stand inside a giant cake made of molten rock," Hat Kid said.

"You think?" Bow Kid replied angrily.

"No time to dwell on it, let's go before we burn to death," Hat Kid responded calmly. They jumped to a large rock, jumped over a gap, avoided a spinning flamethrower which Hat Kid wondered why anyone except a large, evil, fire-breathing turtle would make such a thing, climbed a small rock wall, and stopped.

They waited for the first pillar to rise, and jumped on it, then jumped on the second one just before it could fall, and jumped onto the third one, then jumped onto a rock. Strangely, there were crows everywhere, but on fire, and not seeming to notice or care, or even be affected by it.

They dodged the birds and jumped forth, avoiding another fire spinner, jumping on more sinking pillars, and jumping into another steam cannon, which Hat Kid wondered why it wasn't melting.

The cannon launched them straight up, cooling them slightly, and they swung off of hookshot clamps, landing on another rock. Ahead, three pillars were right next to eachother, and seemed to fall at almost the exact same time. Bow Kid looked to the right a bit and saw a Time Stop yarn behind some bars, and nudged her captain, who saw it.

She jumped on the second pillar before it fell and jumped over to the yarn, collecting it. They had 3 yarn. Both girls then jumped on the pillars as soon as they raised and sprinted across, jumping up to the next rock platform.

Three sinking pillars of different elevation were awaiting them, and they were barely able to jump on each one before they sank down into the titanic exothermic dessert, and jumped onto a rock platform where an Alpiner was waiting.

"Hi!" They greeted happily. "This is _clearly_ a safe place for children to be!" The nomad mumbled sarcastically, and Hat Kid smirked.

"Oh, we aren't your average little girls," was Hat Kid's smug response, causing the nomad to send them a confused look. Hat Kid hooked onto another hookshot clamp, jumped onto another pillar, swung off of another clamp, and landed near the cannon, and Bow Kid did the same.

The Alpiner gave a look of realization and looked away, seeing that they were far more skilled and intelligent than normal children. The two girls jumped inside the steam cannon, which blasted them up through a hole in the lava, and landed on another rock. There was an ice platform on the rock and both girls sprung off of it onto another rock with a zipline and an Alpiner on it.

"I think I spy some treasure!" The nomad stated interestingly, causing Hat Kid to raise an eyebrow and ride the zipline. Besides, it means they can catch a small break from the absolute fiery wrath of the Lava Cake.

They spent around 5 minutes searching the small mountain outpost they found, and found another two Time Stop yarn, lucky find. They returned to the cake after resting a bit and drinking some still cold water, and continued the climb.

They hopped across some more sinking pillars, walked across a narrow rock platform with a fire spinner on it, and jumped into another steam cannon, which launched them up through another hole in the lava.

Hat Kid saw some green ethereal pillars and put on her Dweller Mask, subjecting her more to the heat, and jumped across the pillars, grabbing another piece of yarn, then returned to Bow Kid and put on her ice hat.

Both girls were sweating buckets from the heat, and were running out of water. They needed to finish ASAP. They jumped across some unstable platforms followed immediately by some sinking pillars, and landed on a rock.

They jumped off of another unstable platform onto a large rock platform, avoided a triple fire spinner surrounded by fiery crows, swung off of three more hookshot clamps, and landed inside the steam cannon, which launched them up to the final level of the Lava Cake.

They jumped on more sinking pillars, and saw the Time Piece just out of reach, but Hat Kid saw another yarn and wanted to grab it, so they wouldn't have to return, and put on her Dweller Mask again.

She jumped off of some dweller pillars and jumped up to the pillar with the yarn on it, and grabbed it, then jumped down onto the rock with the Time Piece on it, but accidentally boosted herself and nearly careened off into the lava.

She stopped herself just before her doom and picked up the Time Piece, then jumped over to Bow Kid, and the two girls returned to their spaceship. When they got back, they immediately switched into pajamas, got drinks of ice water, and placed damp towels on their foreheads, then went to bed.


	32. Chapter 31: Time in a hat

Chapter 31: Time in a hat

**A/N: That title is obviously a rearrangement of the game name, you can probably guess why. Also, Guest who commented on Chapter 24: Eclipse, glad you enjoyed. I had a feeling it would be a smart idea, as Badge Seller isn't very important in the game other than a merchant, so, I wonder what you'll think of the next twists I throw into the story. Anyways, enjoy.**

Bow Kid woke up with a severe headache. It felt like her head was being split in two. She had to wake up her captain and get her to help her it was so bad. Fortunately, she had some medicine in the ship and gave her some, and her headache went away quickly.

"Well, that sucked," Bow Kid said miserably. "What will we do today?"

"I don't know. I have two choices," Hat Kid replied. "Either explore the entire planet for enough yarn to make the Time Stop hat and fix these rifts that are left, or ascend the Birdhouse."

"After that peck-fest that was the Lava Cake I don't feel like climbing another peak," Bow Kid grumbled.

"Me neither," Hat Kid responded, so theye decided to search the planet for more yarn.

First, they stopped at Mafia Town, but they had already collected most of the yarn there, so they only got 3 yarn.

They then stopped at Dead Bird Studio again, there wasn't any yarn left in the main floor of the studio, so they also checked The Moon, The Owl Express, and the studio basement for yarn, and collected another 4 yarn.

They then stopped at Subcon Forest, in which they had explored practically none of, and talked to Snatcher, who frowned as soon as he saw the intruders.

"**You again? I thought I made myself pretty clear last time, kiddos,**" He grumbled miserably. "**We're done. Finished. Our working relationship is over. I'm not wasting any more clerical supplies on you two,**"

He then closed his book rapidly, causing a loud booming noise, which startled both girls. "_**NOW GET THE PECK OUT OF MY FOREST!**_" He yelled furiously, and Hat Kid simply gave him a raspberry.

"I think you're forgetting something," Hat Kid replied condescendingly.

"**Oh really? And what would that be? You're too stupid to follow simple orders?**" Snatcher responded sassily, and Hat Kid stared at him disapprovingly.

"You signed a contract forcing you to be our BFF, and it stated we have access to the whole forest," Hat Kid reminded the shadow.

"**Breach of contract forfeits the obligations of the contract for both parties and makes the contract null, therefore, no, I don't have to be your stupid friend,**" He replied tiredly, and Hat Kid frowned. "**So, get lost, you arrogant brat!**"

Hat Kid pouted and stomped off, and Bow Kid followed her. Before they truly began their search for yarn, they found and eliminated the green fire spirits, granting them access to the whole forest.

They spent a good half an hour searching the whole forest for yarn, and were able to find enough to make the hat.

Hat Kid took a deep breath and used her magic to weave all the yarn into a giant singular orb, threw it up into the air, and poked it with her umbrella, then used magic and her umbrella to weave the divine yarn into an elegant looking hat with a clock symbol on the top, which Hat Kid put on, and gave Bow Kid a copy.

"Now," Hat Kid said with bravado, "We can unleash our full potential." She activated the hat, and Bow Kid gasped when she saw her captain gain a pitch black aura and her soul glowed green. Hat Kid ran forward for what seemed like ten seconds to her, but to Bow Kid, she zoomed forward faster than a speeding bullet and she got disoriented.

The aura of temporal power around Hat Kid faded, and she fell to her knees. Whew, that took more magic then she thought it would. She guessed she'd have to wait thirty seconds before she could use any hat again.

Bow Kid caught up to her captain, and the two saw a Time Rift inside a large pipe. They climbed inside the pipe, avoided the mud, and entered the rift. The rift was simple enough, except that there were platforms with red crystals instead of blue, which fell rapidly shortly after being stepped on.

They advanced with caution, jumping on a horizontally spinning, vertically moving gear, and swung off a clamp onto another gear, then swung again onto yet another gear, then swung again onto a vertically rotating rectangular box. They swung off of yet another hookshot clamp onto a platform with a lamp post on it, swung off of more hookshot clamps onto spinning triangular platforms with circular bases, and swung repeatedly off of multiple hookshot clamps up to another platform.

They jumped and swung down onto a series of red square platforms, and used their new hats to slow them down, and swung off of another hookshot clamp into the Time Piece.

Hat Kid sealed the rift and they were back in the pipe. They decided to seal the other rift while they were there and searched around for it for around 10 minutes until they found it and entered it.

This rift, instead of being dominated by hookshot clamps and red platforms, was dominated by dweller platforms. They rung a dweller bell, ran across a green bridge, climbed some rectangular platforms spinning around a cylinder, jumped over to a lamp post, and wall jumped on top of two walls.

Both girls jumped onto some normal unstable platforms and another rotating rectangular box, then jumped over to the next lamp post. They then walljumped up to the next platform, jumped over to another platform, walljumped up that platform, jumped onto a spinning '+', then jumped over to another lamp post

They walljumped up the platform, and jumped onto a thin ramp. They ran up the ramp, hopped across some unstable platforms, and came to a platform with a dweller bell on it with two dweller bridges leading to other platforms with dweller bells on them.

Hat Kid rang the bell, and they ran over the bridges over to the other platforms, rang the other bell, ran over the platform, swung from a hookshot clamp, jumped over to another platform, and jumped over to the last lamp post.

There were some dweller stairs leading to the Time Piece, and a dweller bell on the platform. Hat Kid rang the bell, jumped up the stairs, grabbed the Time Piece, and sealed the rift.

When they emerged from the rift, they returned to the spaceship with two new Time Pieces in stow. They checked their progress, and saw that they had 29/46 Time Pieces, over halfway. They should be able to get the last Time Pieces very soon, and go home.

But, do they _want_ to leave the planet? The one planet that respects them, treats them as equals, views them as celebrities, where they have friends, and where they have freedom? Hat Kid shook the thought away. No, they had to leave, she had to reap what she had sewn, and made sure _**he **_can't misuse the Time Pieces anymore, it isn't a matter of preference, it's a matter of universal security.

She brushed the thought away. First, they'll have to get every single Time Piece back, and that it still gonna take awhile, and is still going to be difficult. At least getting the last Alpine Skyline Time Pieces should be easy.

...

Right?...


	33. Chapter 32: An Egg-citing Discovery

Chapter 32: An Egg-citing discovery

**A/N: Sorry, but not sorry, for that pun. Puns are like cheese, the best ones stink the most. Anyways, time for the Birdhouse, then all that's left is Twilight Bell before, well, showtime. Of all the peaks, I'm saving Twilight Bell for last because it's the one I played last and the one I think will be most troublesome to write about. But, enough about that, enjoy.**

Hat Kid cracked her knuckles. They were going to climb another peak today. Bow Kid scratched her head.

"So, all that's left is the Birdhouse, and the Twilight Bell," Bow Kid muttered. "Which one should we climb?"

"I think the Birdhouse shouldn't be all that bad. We just will probably have to deal with some of those annoying crows," Hat Kid replied. "Let's go for that one." Bow Kid nodded and they jumped down to the Goat Village. The girls then found their way to the orange zipline and rode it.

The zipline was rather short, and they arrived on top of a small cliff between two taller peaks with tightropes between them. The two then jumped down to another cliff, with an Alpiner on it.

"The Birdhouse is this way!" They exclaimed happily, and Hat Kid nodded and jumped across the tightropes to the other side, with Bow Kid following soon after. There was a zipline on the cliff they landed on, and they both latched onto it and zoomed off.

They landed at an outpost, and walked forward.

"Theres a horn at the top!" Another nomad explained, and they jumped forward onto another cliff. They jumped up the side of the cliff, while avoiding two birds, then walljumped off of a wooden wall and climbed up onto a wooden platform.

The two girls bounced off of a spider to get to the next section of the cliff, then jumped on a spring board, bouncing them up to the top of a cliff. There was a wooden platform up ahead with a ramp, and they took off, jumping up onto a cliffside hut and jumping up to the top of the secondary cliff.

They ran across an unstable bridge and jumped onto a springboard, taking them up to the top of the main cliff, where the horn lay. Hat Kid took a deep breath and blew the horn, causing the zipline to split off into another section.

Carefully, they jumped down to the zipline and latched back onto it, taking them back to the main outpost, and went back on the zipline again, leaning to the left. They took the left zipline, and landed near a large set of hills and cliffs.

They ran across a small wooden bridge and came to a cliff with a ladder on it blocked by a crate with golden tape, and Hat Kid blew it into oblivion with her Brewing Hat, and they climbed the ladder. The girls then jumped on a circular spring board, and used the boost to jump up the small cliff face.

They ran on a small wooden platform and jumped down toward the other cliff, barely making the jump onto another wood platform. The girls then hopped onto more wooden platforms and came to a medium sized cliff.

"You're nearly at the Birdhouse!" An Alpiner exclaimed excitedly.

From there, they jumped off of a springboard onto a small pillar of rock, hopped onto another small rock pillar, blew up more crates keeping a platform from falling down to their level, jumped on said platform, and jumped up to a higher section of the main cliff.

They jumped onto a box, and Hat Kid blew up two more crates. Both girls then jumped onto a platform lowered by the explosion, and Hat Kid saw two crates at a lower altitude keeping another platform up.

Instead of going back down and blowing them up, Hat Kid dropped a potion down, and it exploded the crates easily. They proceeded forth, and jumped up to a platform, and saw another crate down below.

Hat Kid exploded it with slight difficulty, causing a support beam to drop, and thus the platform ahead to drop. They jumped onto said platform and jumped to the top of the main cliff, and latched onto the final zipline, which took them into the center of the massive bird cage.

They landed on a large pillar of rock, and saw a large clump of giant birdhouses ahead. They jumped up onto the first birdhouse, which unsurprisingly had some pesky birds on it, and walked across a platform and jumped across a gap to the next one. This birdhouse had hay bales on top of it, and a large nest with an egg sticking slightly out of the ground.

They approached it, and it popped out of the ground and approached them somehow, while releasing a beeping noise and shaking uncontrollably. Hat Kid was confused, and it blew up in her face, knocking her back with a scream, and then they remembered the Old Windmill. They saw one or two of those eggs back there.

She got up, groaned, and then jumped up to the next birdhouse, which had a perplexed Alpiner on it.

"There's something strange about those eggs," They mumbled confusedly, and Hat Kid snorted.

"You think?" She replied, and the nomad turned to her. "Why did your ancestors build this stuff anyways?"

The nomad seemed slightly flustered. "Oh, no, no, _our _ancestors didn't build this. We truly don't know who did, but we think it was the big goats' ancestors," They explained, and Hat Kid crossed her arms.

"Still, who needs a 'lava cake' anyways? Or a large birdhouse? Or a massive windmill? Or a titanic stone bell?" Hat Kid asked the nomad, who shrugged their shoulders.

"Who knows? The goats don't ever speak, so we can't ask them, but they must serve some purpose," The nomad responded whimsically. "They wouldn't build such unique objects for no reason at all."

Hat Kid nodded, and they continued, avoiding another egg, and jumped inside a birdhouse. The girls ran along a sloped platform along the walls of the birdhouse and jumped up to the next level of it, avoiding another funky bird, and jumped out of the birdhouse.

The path split off into two, to the right was a dead end, to the left was a hookshot clamp over a large gap leading to more birdhouses. They went left, swinging over the gap elegantly, and landing on a platform next to another birdhouse. They jumped inside the shelter, ran out onto a platform with another egg on it, dodged the egg, and jumped to the next birdhouse.

Inside the birdhouse was two circular platforms, which they jumped on and off of, and a lower level. They jumped out of the birdhouse and landed on a small platform with a platform sloped downward to the right leading to another birdhouse.

They jumped onto the downward slope and jumped off, landing on a platform, ran inside the building, and climbed a ladder. Ahead were some circular platforms and the roof of a birdhouse with a zipline pole on it, but without a zipline.

To the left was a path leading to a birdhouse, which had two entrances, one leading to some circular platforms, which led to a hookshot clamp, which led to the horn, which was on top of the birdhouse. Hat Kid ran and jumped inside the small birdhouse and ran out, and hopped onto the circular platforms, avoiding the birds and eggs on top, and swung off of the hookshot clamp.

She landed gracefully next to the horn and blew it, causing a zipline to be released from the zipline pole, and then jumped back down to her waiting first officer. The two girls then hopped across the circular platforms leading to the zipline and latched onto it, which took them to a cliff next to a giant sleeping bird.

They climbed up a small rock pillar, and saw the Time Piece on another cliff, but the large bird was between them and they saw no way to get it to move. Hat Kid saw how deep of a sleep it was in, and jumped off onto the bird, and, surprisingly, bounced off of it like you would on a trampoline.

Bow Kid uncertainly followed her captain, and they landed next to the Time Piece. Hat Kid grabbed it and did her typical pose with it, but the item glew and began flying out of her grasp, causing her to panic, but she grabbed it and pinned it against the ground, then began poking it as if to scold it for misbehaving.

Bow Kid found this amusing and adorable to watch, and they returned to the ship. Both girls brushed off the straw and egg parts they had accumulated on their clothes, got into some pajamas so they could do laundry, and Hat Kid put the Time Piece back where it rightfully belongned.

Hat Kid looked down at the peaks below. Only one left to explore, and all bets were off on what would happen there. She didn't understand what made this bell so special, other than its size and material. She was also perplexed by the fact that her ship detected a Time Piece inside it, but saw no flashing light indicating one.

She had a feeling climbing this 'peak' would definitely be something worth remembering, but her insticts told her that something much more 'memorable' would happen somewhat soon.

To her worry, they were the very same insticts that made her feel sick and nervous before the battle with the Conductor, which ended tragically.


	34. Chapter 33: The Twilight Zone

Chapter 33: The Twilight Zone

**A/N: Considering how long it takes to complete Twilight Bell for the first time, this chapter may have to be split into two parts. However, if that happens, I'll write both parts today, and I also planning another act after that today (you can probably guess what), so that'll make 2-3 chapters in one day. Enjoy.**

Hat Kid sighed. Soon, the freedom they enjoyed so much of exploring Alpine Skyline would end, as they have nearly collected each Time Piece there. The ship was detecting another Time Piece in the general area, but couldn't detect exactly where it was coming from.

Bow Kid breathed deeply. They were going to explore the Twilight Bell, on which they had no clue on what was going to happen, so they prepared themselves for anything. They landed at the Goat Village, and made their way to the green zipline.

They rode it, and landed on a tall rocky outcrop with some markings and the white flowers growing on it, and they ran forward, but stopped. Ahead, there were some green ethereal platforms leading up to the next platform.

Both girls donned their Dweller Masks and jumped up on the platforms, jumping up to another outcrop.

"The Twilight Bell is just ahead!" An Alpiner exclaimed excitedly, and Hat Kid nodded. They jumped up onto another platform and walljumped up onto another outcrop, and saw another outcrop, with a green ethereal platform and normal platform on it to jump on.

They activated their masks and jumped onto the green platform, then jumped to the normal platform. The girls then jump and dove over a gap to another outcrop, then jumped up to another one with a long platform attached to it. They ran off the platform and jumped, then wallclimbed up to a outcrop which had a Dweller Bell and green platforms on it.

"I wonder why there are dwellers here," Hat Kid muttered, and Bow Kid shrugged her shoulders. They rang the bell and climbed up the now real green platforms, then jumped off to another outcrop, with a zipline on it, which they clamped onto.

They landed on a large, long outcrop with glowing markings and flowers on it, and saw the gargantuan stone bell looming beyond. The inside of the bell, strangely, looked like the cosmos. The girls ran across the top of the outcrop, and stopped next to an awestruck Alpiner.

The nomad noticed them and rambled. "Look at that thing! If only I could reach it..." Both girls jumped onto the outcrop directly beneath the clapper of the bell, which had a pull hanging down so a very tall, or large, person could reach it.

Hat Kid noticed the bell pull had a hook shape on the end of it, and told Bow Kid to grab onto her. Bow Kid was confused by this, but did so. Hat Kid then hooked onto the bell pull and began swinging back and forth, causing the bell to ring out loudly. After the first ring, they noticed a strange noise and a green haze circling around them.

After the second ring, the strange, and eery noise became clear and louder and the haze thickened, and on the third ring, the noise became high pitched and the haze thickened to the point of being unable to see through it. Then, the haze became dark and began spinning rapidly, until it cleared, revealing the girls in an alternate dimension, one of darkness and twilight.

Both girls then realized why the bell was named the Twilight Bell. They jumped off onto a large stone platform, and ran across it. The girls then swung off of two hookshot clamps to land on a large, broken stone pillar, and used their dweller masks to run across a green bridge to get to another pillar.

On the giant pillar were some green ethereal boxes with engravings of goat heads on them, so they used their masks to make them real and jump off of them onto a large, similar stone box. From there, they jumped and dove over to a giant stone box which had smaller, green boxes on them, and a red dweller bell with a large red aura which turned the boxes red where it crossed the aura.

Both girls were confused by the bell and activated their masks, but the red parts of the boxes did not become real. It was then they realized it was an anti-dweller bell, just as the purple platforms were anti-dweller platforms. Regardless, they jumped onto the boxes and walljumped up onto another large broken pillar.

They ran across a green bridge, which took them to a bridge with water running across it. They ran across the bridge and jumped up to a platform, ran across it, jumped up again onto another platform, then used their masks to pass through an arch covered by a purple wall.

In the next room was a pillar with a normal dweller bell on it, which Hat Kid rang, but the aura did not proceed to shrink, and stayed where it was. They then proceeded to go right, jumping through a purple wall, jumping over a purple bridge with a red bell on it, then walljumped onto a bridge with water on it.

They came to a large, thin purple platform with purple stairs on it, with anti-dweller bells roaming around on it. They jumped onto the platform and avoided the bells, then jumped up onto the stairs and onto a platform. They used their masks to clear a purple wall ahead and continued, stopping at a green bridge with a red bell on it, then used their masks to make the bridge appear and jumped over the bell.

They jumped onto another platform, then jumped on some boxes, which had a purple bridge with two red bells on it connected to it. The girls timed their jumps correctly and dashed over the bells, and jumped onto another box, which was floating, and Hat Kid grabbed a key.

From there, they jumped down and came back to the permanent dweller bell, then went left. Ahead was a series of green and purple platforms, so they toggled their masks on and off, slowly jumping up the series of platforms until they arrived at a large box with a bell on it and a long, twisting green bridge leading off of it.

Hat Kid told Bow Kid to stay back and keep ringing the bell, which she did, and Hat Kid took off, running across the bridge, until the last section of the small bridge which the bell's aura could not reach, so she used her mask to make it real and walk across it, arriving at a pillar with a horn on it.

Hat Kid blew the horn, which caused a zipline to appear somewhere. The girls returned to the permanent bell and whacked it again, causing the aura to shrink rapidly, making a green wall disappear, revealing a locked door, which Hat Kid promptly opened. They walked through the door, arriving at a small room with a set of bars ahead, inside a green ethereal wall.

Curious, Hat Kid used her mask, which caused the wall to appear, and the bars raised up, and Hat Kid stopped using her mask, causing the wall to disappear and the bars to fall. Bow Kid ran up to her, and she repeated this process, but they slipped under the bars before they could fall, bringing them to the other side.

They jumped down to a long platform next to a set of bars, which were resting on a purple wall. Hat Kid activated her mask, causing the wall to disappear and the bars to fall, but they stopped falling. She then jumped down to another platform and activated her mask again, causing the bars to fall even more, until they fell down enough that they could be jumped over.

On the other side of the bars was a door leading through more bars, which was locked. The girls then jumped on a box and jumped over to another box sticking out the side of a room, and Hat Kid used her mask so they could slip under more bars.

Inside the room was a key behind some bars inside a tiny green wall, and Hat Kid tried using her mask to slip under them, but to no avail. There was also a red bell off to the side, which Hat Kid rung, and its aura expanded outward and stayed, causing half of the green wall to vanish. Hat Kid used her mask again, causing the bars to raise, and slipped under the bars while half of the platform was real, grabbing the key.

Bow Kid then, for curiosity, rang the bell again, trapping Hat Kid inside, which did not please her. "Is this another prank?" She asked annoyedly, and Bow Kid chuckled, then walked toward the bars, and looked at Hat Kid. "Hello? Bow?"

Bow Kid smiled darkly and walked calmly to the entrance of the room and prepared to leave. Hat Kid laughed nervously. "Yes, wonderful, an excellent joke, let us be gone now, I don't like this place."

"Yes, let us be gone," Bow Kid replied darkly.

"For the love of peck, Bow!" Hat Kid screamed, then something clicked in Bow Kid's head, and she turned around, confused.

She saw Hat Kid, distressed, behind the bars, and became alarmed. She rang the bell, and Hat Kid slipped back out from under the bell and smacked Bow Kid in the face. "What happened?" Bow Kid asked.

"_**You tell me!**_" Hat Kid screamed, and Bow Kid backed off.

"W-what do you mean?" Bow Kid replied, distressed as well. "I didn't do anything!"

"Then please explain to me why I saw you trap me behind those bars, ignore what I said, and prepare to abandon me," Hat Kid demanded furiously.

"I-I don't know, I don't remember any of that!" Bow Kid answered. "S-something must've came over me! I would never do that, I swear!"

"When we return to the ship, I want you to get your things and leave," Hat Kid ordered, and Bow Kid gasped.

"No! Please, don't do that! I swear to you on my life I would never do something like that!" Bow Kid cried desperately, but Hat Kid wouldn't listen and just sighed. "I love you like a sister, and sisters don't do that to eachother!"

Hearing this made Hat Kid stop, and she turned around and looked at her. "D-did you just...?" She stammered. "D-did you just say you loved me? Like a sister?"

Bow Kid nodded rapidly, and Hat Kid began shaking slightly. "I-I've never had a sister, or anyone who loved me like one," She said shakily, and hugged Bow Kid. "I love you like a sister, too."

Bow Kid hugged her back. "I'm so, so, so sorry. I honestly don't have a clue what happened," She said sadly, "I think it might've been this place, this 'Twilight Zone' or whatever. We should get out of here as soon as possible."

Hat Kid nodded, and they left the room. They jumped over to some stone sculptures and jumped on them, then jumped up to the platform. The girls jumped over the bars and Hat Kid unlocked the door, and they went through.

They walked forward, and saw a large green platform with three dweller bells spread out across it, one on the bridge they were standing on. Hat Kid rang the first bell, and the aura stayed permanently, and they walked over to the second bell, and rung it. Interestingly, when the auras of the two bells intersected they seem to cancel eachother out.

Hat Kid rang the third bell, and jumped over to the second bell, and rang it, causing most of the platform to become real. They jumped onto some green boxes and swung off of some hookshot clamps, bringing them to a small platform above everything.

They jumped over to a platform next to the platform they were standing on, and climbed a ladder, bringing them up to another platform. On this platform was the zipline they released earlier. They rode the zipline and came at a large platform with a dweller bell on it, which they rang, and the aura stayed permanently, causing some green stairs to turn real.

They climbed to the stop of the stairs, and could feel the radiance of the Time Piece coming from beneath their feet, and Hat Kid used her dweller mask to cancel out the aura and fall into the Time Piece, which she grabbed.

Bow Kid grabbed Hat Kid's hand, but both girls were perplexed as to how they were going to leave this abyssal dimension. Suddenly, the Time Piece glowed brilliantly, blinding the girls temporarily, and when their sight returned, they were back at the base of the bell.

They returned to the spaceship, and Bow Kid walked into the bedroom sadly. "Well, if you want me gone, I guess I'll get going," She said, defeated.

"No, I don't, please, stay." Hat Kid told her. "Stay with me, please. You're the sister I never had." Bow Kid turned to her and they smiled at eachother, then hugged again, and Hat Kid buried her head in Bow Kid's shoulder.

In this moment, Hat Kid and Bow Kid felt only two things.

Peace and tranquility.

It is ironic how they felt such things with the chaos and turmoil stirring up below.

It was time for all of the flowers to bloom.


	35. Chapter 34: Toxin

Chapter 34: Toxin

**A/N: The Illness Has Spread. Time for Hat Kid and Bow Kid to fight for not only the sake of Alpine Skyline, but the whole world. I'll let y'all try to guess what the name means. *cackles evilly***

Hat Kid walked out into the main hub, smiling peacefully. However, the tranquil look on her face was quickly replaced by a look of confusion when she looked down at the planet below and saw Alpine Skyline covered in dark purple clouds.

"Bow, come here," Hat Kid beckoned.

"Did something bad happen again?" Bow Kid asked as she walked out into the main hub as well, and saw the dark purple clouds around Alpine Skyline.

"I dunno, but I have a really bad feeling about this. Let's go see what's up," Hat Kid responded, and Bow Kid nodded, and they dropped down to the Goat Village. They were horrified by the sight. Purple pollen was everywhere as the area was covered in violent storms, and to make it worse, it seemed like the goats were possessed by something.

Holding back against the howling winds, they ran up to a sheltering Alpiner.

"What in the Universe happened?" Hat Kid asked the panicked nomad.

"W-we don't know! Those purple plants bloomed, then suddenly the big Goats went crazy and started attacking everyone as a giant storm rolled in!" They explained in distress, and Hat Kid sighed.

"I knew those plants were no good," She mumbled, then something came into her mind. "I remember something about these plants, there should be three main roots we need to take out. Do you know where the first plants appeared?"

"We first saw them near each peak except Twilight Bell," The nomad explained a bit more calmly. "Take care, kids, those flowers seem very nasty." Both girls nodded and took off. They would go for the one at the Windmill first.

They took the left zipline and saw the flowers at the base of the small windmill in bloom, which sparked another memory. "I think I studied these flowers in school, I don't remember why, though. Don't touch the flowers, they'll register your action and retaliate," Hat Kid explained.

Bow Kid nodded and they hooked onto the windmill, and the Goat was still there, and noticed them, and chased after them, but they climbed onto the house and continued. When they came to the next zipline, it was covered in pollen, so they couldn't attach to it. However, there were some large floating pieces of pollen with hooked ends that they could hook onto.

They did so, and came to a large outcrop covered in the flowers' roots. They saw the main root, and it shifted, almost seeming to sense and register the girls. "Oh, right, the main roots are self-aware and semi-sentient and will attack us, so watch out," Hat Kid muttered, then coughed repeatedly, then cleared her throat, which concerned her first officer.

They jumped over to the next outcrop, and pieces of pollen landed near them, and flashed. They ran forward just as the pollen exploded, and they continued, dodging a few goats, until they came to the main root.

Hat Kid whacked it repeatedly until it uprooted and flew off, releasing a burst of pollen, then, near the windmill, the haze cleared and plants died. Hat Kid coughed more, this time a bit more violently, and Bow Kid was even more concerned.

"Are you ok?" She asked her captain.

"Yeah, fine, why? I think I just have a cold, I'll try to see if I can remember anything that might be of use," Hat Kid responded. They returned to the Goat Village and continued, Hat Kid wracking her brain for more information, then proceeded to make their way to the yellow zipline to the Birdhouse.

They jumped across the tightropes and hookshot clamps and hooked onto the next zipline. When they landed, Hat Kid coughed more again, but shook it off and continued. Lightning struck ahead of them, causing the ladder ahead to burn and the fencing to fall off, so they climbed up the outcrop and continued their journey until they saw more large pieces of pollen, which they swung off of.

The main root, which seemed larger and nastier than the other one, responded to the intruders and began shooting pollen at them, as well as a new attack, suddenly spouting vines from the ground to attack them. They managed to dodge all of the attacks and make it to the main root, and they both whacked it until it uprooted and died, causing another large burst of pollen to cleanse the air and kill the plants.

Hat Kid doubled over and began coughing extremely violently, rolling as she did so, until she stopped and had to gasp for air. She looked into her hand and saw blood spattered across it, as well as some tiny pieces of pollen, then her memory finally clicked.

_"Repeat after me what you will do if you see these flora on a planet," _

_"Okay"_

_"If I see these plants..."_

_"If I see these plants..."_

_"I will flee the planet as fast as possible,"_

_"I will flee the planet as fast as possible,"_

_"Very good."_

Hat Kid's heart dropped, and she gasped, remembering everything about the plants. "Illonessia Titaniauria," She said without emotion, causing her first officer to turn to her. "That is the official name of these plants."

"You remember them?" Bow Kid asked

"Yes, for better or for worse," Hat Kid answered. "I remember everything, and now I remember why I studied them."

"Are they toxic?" Bow Kid inquired.

"No, not to most," Hat Kid responded. "But for Time Lords..." She turned to her first officer with a dead serious look on her face and put her hands on her shoulders. "Bow, I want you to promise me something," She said.

"What?"

"If... no. When I fall, I want you to promise me, you'll leave me behind and take out the last root," Hat Kid stated.

"_What?!_" was Bow Kid's response. "No, no. I can't leave you behind!"

"Bow, listen to me. If these plants aren't stopped, then all life on this planet shall be wiped out as they spread. One life cannot stand in the way of saving millions," Hat Kid explained. Bow Kid teared up.

"I-I can't. Y-you're a sister to me!" Bow Kid stammered, and Hat Kid put her hand to her mouth and let out a 'shh'. Tears were gathering in her eyes as well.

"Yes you can, you must. The whole planet depends on it," Hat Kid replied reassuringly, and Bow Kid nodded sadly. They hugged, then returned to the Goat Village. All that was left was the Lava Cake root, which would most likely be the strongest one.

They made their way to the red singed zipline and rode it, then bounced off of the spiders to cross the gaps to the next zipline, which they latched onto. Hat Kid began coughing even more violently, sending agony throughout her body, but refused to give in. The girls then climbed up onto the outcrop, jumping on some huts and platforms, until they came to the top, and climbed on top of two big houses, and hooked onto more large pieces of pollen, landing on an outcrop, where, not very far away, the final root lay.

This root looked even nastier than the last two, and had small plant barriers built along the path to it. The girls began running toward the flower, but Hat Kid was impaired by the toxins in her system and took a direct hit from a piece of explosive pollen and fell to the floor, then began coughing extremely violently, and vomited blood before falling unconscious. The root then gathered vines around her, which proceeded to wrap around her, trapping her in an organic prison.

Bow Kid was going to try to help her, but remembered her wish and sprinted toward the root, then let out a battle cry as she whacked it, uprooting it, which killed it. It released one final burst of pollen which cleared the last bit of air and killed the last bit of plants, then the skies became clear again.

The vines around Hat Kid withered, and Bow Kid picked her up gently, then returned to the Goat Village. When they arrived, all the Goats and Alpiners had gathered to show their appreciation.

"Is it... over? The air is clear again!" One Alpiner exclaimed. "And, the goats seem to have come to their senses again! I don't really understand it, but I assume we have you two to thank!"

Bow Kid, hearing the nomad refer to them as a plural, looked down to the girl in her arms and put her hand to her captain's face, then a tear rolled down her cheek. "We found this in a cluster of those flowers after they wilted again. You two were pretty insistent on going after the others, so I guess it belongs to you?"

Bow Kid took the Time Piece sadly and smiled sadly at her captain. "It's hers, not mine. I'm simply a helper. A sidekick," Bow Kid said sadly, then thought of something. "Oh peck!"

The Alpiner was startled by this sudden outburst. "What's wrong?"

"The plants are extremely toxic to her species, she needs medical help, _**NOW!**_" Bow Kid shouted. Hearing this, the nomad turned around and ran off, then came back around a minute later with some nomads clad entirely in white, Bow Kid assumed they were doctors or medics.

They picked up Hat Kid and brought her inside a house, where they laid her down on a bed and got her a damp towel for her now-hot forehead. She groaned in her unconsciousness and shifted slightly. The medics seemed troubled. "What?" Bow Kid asked.

"These plants are foreign to us, we have no cure, no antidote. We have no idea how to help her heal, other than simply to give her basic aid and hope she struggles through," The lead medic stated. "However, judging by her condition, how long she's been exposed to the toxin, and her youth, she's not going to make it without an antidote."

Hearing this made Bow Kid stomp her feet. "So, you're just going to give up on the person that saved your home?" She shouted angrily at the nomad, who seemed flustered.

"Of course not, I'm just telling you not to get your hopes up," The medic replied, and Bow Kid walked outside and sat down at a cliff, then began crying.

"_What's wrong, young one?_" A familiar, mysterious voice asked, and Bow Kid turned to see the Badge Seller at her side.

"S-she's dying, and there's nothing I can do about it," Bow Kid stammered hopelessly.

"_Actually..._" The merchant replied, "_I know these plants. I know their antidote._"

"You do?!" Bow Kid said excitedly.

"_Indeed. However, I cannot help you without some form of compensation, I have already shown you much generosity and mercy,_" He explained. "_1000 pons for the recipe of the antidote._"

Bow Kid sighed and paid the merchant, who handed her a piece of paper. She read the paper, and it said to find 10 flower stems and mash them together in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. "_The flowers growing around this land are a natural antidote, if you find the stems and turn them into a liquid form you should be able to heal your friend, but, no guarantees,_" The Badge Seller explained.

Bow Kid took off immediately and found ten of the glowing white flowers, and collected them. She ran back to the makeshift hospital and asked the medics for a mortar and pestle, and they found one and gave it to her. She put the stems of the flowers inside it and crushed them into a liquid, then poured the liquid into a vial.

She brought the vial over to Hat Kid's lips, but because of her being unconscious, she didn't drink it. Bow Kid sighed and grabbed her chin lightly, then tugged down to get Hat Kid's mouth to open, then poured the liquid in and tilted her head back to get her to swallow it, which she did.

Bow Kid then sat down and sighed, then groaned. She was tired and had a headache after all of this, and a medic put their hand on her shoulder. "I don't know where you're living, but you should go back there and rest. You don't look too good," The medic explained sympathetically.

"I won't be able to rest knowing she's like this," Bow Kid replied, "I might as well stay down here."

"You've done all you can do, so go back and rest. She'll be worried if she sees you in a bad condition if-when she wakes up," The nomad told Bow Kid. "Go back and rest."

"Fine," Bow Kid responded, then took the Time Piece and flew back to the ship, then got into bed. She was so used to seeing her captain there, seeing the bottom bunk empty made her cry herself to sleep.


	36. Chapter 35: Farewell

Chapter 35: Farewell

**A/N: Another evil twist you weren't expecting. Just you wait, it gets even dicier.**

Bow Kid woke up with a sigh. Normally she'd be happy after a good night's sleep but she hardly slept and what little sleep she did have was not peaceful in the slightest. She dragged herself out of bed and got ready, then jumped down to Alpine Skyline.

An Alpiner was waiting uncomfortably for her when she landed, and she noticed this. "What's wrong?" Bow Kid asked nervously.

"Eh, nothing, really," was the nomad's uncertain response. Bow Kid didn't believe this in the slightest and stomped off. "Wait!"

Between her and the makeshift hospital where Hat Kid was resting, a goat was there. Bow Kid was able to sidestep around the giant and look inside the building, and her heart dropped at the sight.

The medics had grave looks on their faces and looked down in a mourning fashion, and one slowly walked over to the side and grabbed a tarp, and put it over Hat Kid, who wasn't moving. Bow Kid stomped inside. "What is this?!" She demanded, and the lead medic gave her a look of surprise and sadness.

"Y-you aren't supposed to be here," The medic replied shakily.

"I'm not going to ask again. _**What is this?**_" Bow Kid asked again, and the medic shook their head somberly.

"We did everything we could, but it wasn't enough," The medic said. "I'm sorry."

"No, it can't be!" Bow Kid stammered. She ran over to Hat Kid's side and checked her pulse and breathing. Nothing. "No..." She buried her head in her late captain's shoulder and began sobbing uncontrollably. "I didn't even get to say farewell," She said quietly, and the lead medic approached her and put their hand on her shoulder, which she batted away. "What happened?!"

"The antidote you gave her kept her going for awhile, but by the time it was administered, it was already too late, and during the night she stopped breathing. We tried everything, CPR, defibrillators, every resuscitaton method known, and nothing happened." The medic stated guiltily. "There's nothing that could've been done. She's gone."

Bow Kid began sobbing again and the medic motioned her to the door, but she didn't go. They tried convincing her that she needed to leave and clear her thoughts, but she refused. They had to get a goat to pick her up and take her out by force, kicking and screaming.

After the goat dropped her outside, and she failed to get back into the hospital, she climbed to the very top of the Goat Village and looked up at the cosmos and constellations above. She wondered if Hat Kid was there, finally at peace and truly happy, and another tear rolled down her cheek.

She stood up, and suddenly a large gust of wind tilted her forward, and she began falling slightly, when something grabbed onto the back of her shirt and raised her back up. When she looked to see who had saved her, she gasped.

She was her height, had toffee brown hair, was wearing a purple shirt with a large zipper, white pants, a yellow cape, and a purple top hat with a yellow sash. It was Hat Kid, back from the dead. Bow Kid gave her the biggest hug the Universe had ever seen and began sobbing again into her shoulder, and Hat Kid returned the hug.

"It's okay, Bow. It's okay. I'm here now," Hat Kid said calmly. "I promise you, I will never leave you, ever. Even if it means overcoming Death itself." Bow Kid's crying had toned down to quiet crying and sniffling, and she looked at her captain.

"Please, don't ever do that again," Bow Kid begged, and Hat Kid smiled warmly, she too was crying slightly.

"It won't happen again, I promise," Hat Kid reassured, and they hugged again, and stayed like that for about five minutes, until they both had calmed down.

"So, what happened? I checked your pulse and your breathing, and there was nothing!" Bow Kid asked, and Hat Kid held her forehead.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened, all I remember is everything going black when I passed out at the third root, and somewhat returning to consciousness on a bed, and I heard muffled talking in the background." Hat Kid answered.

"What happen when you, uh, came back?" Bow Kid inquired.

"I opened my eyes, and found myself under a tarp. It was like I was just asleep, and woke up. I felt perfectly fine, almost like the whole 'illness' thing was just a bad dream," Hat Kid explained. "No one was there when I crawled out from under the tarp, so I got up and went outside, and some shocked Alpiners saw me, which confused me, and told me to go see you at the top of the village, which I did."

Bow Kid smiled. "Whatever. All that matters to me is that you're back, and you're not leaving me," She responded, and they both smiled. "So, uh, what now?"

"Well, considering how much work we've been put through, I thought we could, well, take a vacation," Hat Kid explained, causing Bow Kid to give her a confused look.

"What do you mean?" She asked, and Hat Kid smiled and pulled something out of her pocket and held it in her hand, then grabbed it with her other hand, revealing two very nearly identical items. Upon closer inspection, in turns out they were two tickets to an arctic cruise line.

"It's a win-win situatioin. If we find Time Pieces, then we collect them, it shouldn't be too dangerous considering it's a federally inspected cruise ship. Right?" Hat Kid continued. "And if we don't, well, no matter, we're still getting a trip on a cruise ship, which we've never done before."

Bow Kid nodded. It did make sense. They returned to the spaceship, and Hat Kid cracked her knuckles, then an alarm blared out throughout the ship.

**WARNING. TIME RIFTS DETECTED.**

Hat Kid pouted and stomped up to the monitor, then tapped it, revealing three pictures, two blue orbs and one purple orb. Hat Kid groaned and ran over to the hatch, then they both jumped out.


	37. Chapter 36: Nuisance

Chapter 36: Nuisance

**A/N: Yeah, I didn't upload for a couple of days, sorry. I was sick, didn't feel like it, got a new video game, yada yada yada. You aren't here to read excuses, so I won't keep you busy. I'll try to upload a lot more the next few days to make up for it.**

They landed in Subcon Forest, as a purple rift had appeared there, and decided to pester Snatcher again.

"Hello again!" Hat Kid shouted happily to the shadow, and comically, his eye twitched.

"**What do you want?! Can't you see I'm busy reading my book?**" He grumbled miserably to the girl, who became curious and tried peeking over his shoulder, but he put a bookmark in and shut his book.

"What are you reading?" She asked innocently.

"**The Communist Manifesto,**" Snatcher replied emotionlessly, then chuckled when the girl became confused and uncomfortable. "**Kidding, it's called How To Kill Kids.**"

"Gee, that's reassuring," Bow Kid said sarcastically.

"**Kid, you already know I hate both of you and want the both of you dead. I'm just not acting on it because it ended badly last time,**" He replied nonchalantly. "**Now, get lost before I change my mind. This book has taught me all sorts of new tricks.**"

Hat Kid giggled. "Mhm, sure. I'd turn you blue again. But, fine, we don't have time to talk anyway."

Snatcher became curious after hearing this. "**You know what? Fine. If you're going to come to my forest constantly and annoy me so much that I want to die again then you can at least tell me why,**" He demanded, and Hat Kid gave him an annoyed glare, causing him to smirk.

"Here's the short explanation. A Time Piece broke on it's own and created a tear in time so now we have to go in and repair it before it devours the Universe," She explained impatiently, then they took off.

Snatcher shook his head. "**Seems like a pretty large responsibility for two cu-annoying little girls, but whatever,**" He mumbled, then whacked himself in the face repeatedly with his book. Did he seriously almost call them cute? They aren't normal little girls anyway, they're superhuman aliens, that somehow managed to beat him, a pecking shadow demon, and wanted to be friends with him for some ungodly reason.

Suddenly, an idea came into his head. He grinned evilly and turned back to an earlier chapter, and read the title. "**Actually, if they want to pester me and work with me so much, I'll use it to my advantage!**"

"**Let's see how much of a 'death wish' those brats actually have!**"

It didn't take them all that long to find the Time Rift, but were amazed to see the location where it landed. The rift was inside of a gigantic Time Piece that seemed to have frozen in time as it was shattering.

"Huh, that's new," Hat Kid mumbled in surprise.

"I hope that doesn't mean this rift will be different," Bow Kid said uncertainly, but they jumped up to the Time Rift and entered it regardless. They landed on a small rocky island with a bunch of sleeping raccoons on it, and saw the Rift Gate ahead.

However, Hat Kid already knew there was something else and checked behind the gate, and sure enough, there was a storybook page. Hat Kid grabbed it with glee, and then remembered something. They didn't check the storybook they got from Dead Bird Studio. She quickly told Bow Kid this and they decided to read that storybook before this one.

The girls jumped through the gate and were surprised to see themselves standing on the balcony of a treehouse suspended above a giant forest fire, and to see more sleeping raccoons dozing off like it was normal. First thing Hat Kid did was to check the entire treehouse, and found another storybook page.

They split up and jumped across different platforms, grabbing each Rift Pon with ease, until Hat Kid saw a storybook on a crane, and grabbed it. They wondered why there would be a crane, unless humans used to live in the forest. They'll have to read the storybook to find out.

They returned to the treehouse they originally landed on and jumped over to a branch, and Bow Kid saw a storybook page on top of another treehouse, and Hat Kid jumped over to it excitedly, but didn't notice that the crane from earlier was active and swinging a wrecking ball, which collided with her, sending her tumbling down below with a scream.

When she opened her eyes, she was back on the branch, and her left arm stung badly. She tried moving it, but it ignited with pain and she yelped out in pain. Bow Kid was extremely concerned and rolled back her sleeve, and they proceeded to check her arm for serious injury.

Bow Kid squeezed Hat Kid's arm in a certain spot and she stepped back with a loud scream. From all this, they guessed she broke her arm when the wrecking ball hit her. They carefully proceeded to jump over to some more branches, and Bow Kid gathered some leaves and made a makeshift sling for Hat Kid's arm.

Bow Kid then jumped on top of the treehouse and grabbed the page, then ran back to Hat Kid, who had checked behind the Rift Gate and found another storybook page. They carefully jumped through the Rift Gate, and landed on top of a large stone tower with some sleeping raccoons on it, some midair.

Bow Kid whacked any sleeping raccoons that came near them, and took a Rift Pon that one dropped. She then ran around to the other side of the tower and whacked a spider, which dropped another Rift Pon, then ran over a wooden plank to a tiny tower with another Rift Pon on it.

Unfortunately, the gap to the next tower was too large to clear without diving, so Hat Kid couldn't make the jump. Bow Kid ran back to her and told her the news, and she sighed.

"I guess I'll just have to wait here," Hat Kid said tiredly.

"But I need you to come along!" Bow Kid replied.

"No you don't, you're stronger than you think," Hat Kid reassured, and Bow Kid stared blankly at her.

"No, I didn't really mean it that way. I meant, I need you to seal the rift, I don't know how to do that," Bow Kid clarified, and Hat Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Well, do you see another way?" Hat Kid asked.

"Actually, I do," Bow Kid answered confidently, then motioned for Hat Kid to follow her, which she did. When they came to the gap between the two towers, Bow Kid smiled at her.

"Consider this as making up for when you carried me through Train Rush," Bow Kid said, slightly amused, which confused Hat Kid.

"What do you m-HEY!" Hat Kid asked, but was interrupted when Bow Kid picked her up and hoisted her on her back. "No offense, but this seems like a bad idea."

"But it's the best idea we have," was Bow Kid's response. She jumped and dove over to the tower, barely making it, and whacked another raccoon, which dropped another pon. She then jumped over to a spinning wooden '+', which had a Rift Pon and a Storybook Page out near the edges, and ran over to the pon, grabbing it.

Hat Kid giggled, then laughed. "This is fun!" She stated cheerfully, which caused Bow Kid to smirk slightly.

"Yeah, glad _you're _having fun. You have no idea how much more complicated this is to do now," Bow Kid responded with amusement, causing Hat Kid to giggle more.

Bow Kid grabbed the other pon and the Storybook Page, then jumped over to the Rift Gate, which promptly opened. She was going to jump in when Hat Kid stopped her.

"Wait," Hat Kid said, "There might be another page here." Bow Kid looked over the edge, and sure enough, there was a page floating right there. She knelt down and grabbed it, then jumped through the gate.

The duo landed on the side of a giant well, which was filled with ice. Bow Kid saw the bucket hanging down and climbed inside it, grabbing another Rift Pon. She then jumped out then jumped and dove to a faraway ice tower with a Rift Pon on it.

The girls landed on it, and felt shifting. Bow Kid jumped over to another tower, and heard the tower behind her crumble away. She had a feeling all of the towers were unstable and jumped over to the next one, homing attacked a raccoon with a Rift Pon, then jumped onto some frozen leaves.

She looked down, and saw another branch with a Storybook Page on it, and grabbed it. She then jumped to the next tower, whacked a raccoon to get another pon, and jumped to the next one. Bow Kid then grabbed the pon on the tower and jumped to the next tower, homing attacking a spider to get another pon, then jumped to the last tower, which had the Rift Gate on it.

She looked behind her and saw that some of the towers reappeared, and saw the one she just jumped off of seem to reverse in time and reform before her very eyes, which amazed her.

"Yeah, space and time can get pretty messed up if these rifts are left alone for too long. That's why it's better to deal with rifts ASAP, especially purples," Hat Kid explained.

"Oh, that makes sense," Bow Kid replied, and they jumped through to the next gate. The girls were confused to see themselves on a large tower covered in giant test tubes with strange plants in them, but didn't have enough time to dwell on it when they saw some squids look at them and shoot out shockwaves.

"Uhhh," Bow Kid mumbled, "Does your rift explain this?"

"These are, or used to be, native fauna of the forest... I think," Hat Kid answered. Bow Kid jumped over the shockwaves and stomped on the squids, killing them. However, they didn't notice the sleepy raccoons floating above them and one awoke suddenly, and crashed down into Bow Kid, knocking her back with a grunt.

She quickly got up and whacked the raccoon, which dropped a Rift Pon. She stomped over to the Rift Gate, but Hat Kid stopped her again. She quickly scanned the surrounding area for any sign of a page, and saw the walling surrounding the perimeter of the tower ended in a few spots.

She ran over to one of the gaps in the walling and looked down, and there was a wooden platform. She gently dropped Hat Kid and jumped down to the platform, then jumped down to another platform, then another one. She then saw an entrance to a lower level of the tower and jumped inside, and there was the Storybook Page, which she grabbed.

She returned to Hat Kid and the two entered the final Gate, taking them to the heart of the Rift. Hat Kid ran up to it and tried homing attacking it, but just collided into it with her bad arm, causing her to tumble to the floor with a cry.

Bow Kid quickly helped her up then attacked the heart, knocking it back, then attacked it more until it broke in two and exploded in another burst of light. Hat Kid grabbed the Time Piece with her good arm and sealed the rift, bringing them back to the forest, and they fell, as the humongous Time Piece had disappeared.

Hat Kid held the Time Piece to the sky, but remembered her bad arm. Bow Kid smiled at her and offered her hand, and Hat Kid gave her the Time Piece. Bow Kid held the Time Piece to the sky, and Hat Kid grabbed her free hand with her good arm, and Bow Kid grinned from ear to ear.

"I've always wanted to be the person that does this," Bow Kid stated excitedly, then they shot up into the sky. However, as it was her first time, it wasn't as smooth a ride and they tumbled into the ship, faceplanting into the carpet of the main hub.

Hat Kid groaned, then took off the makeshift cast and cringed. Bow Kid's smile disappeared and she thought of something. "We should get you to a hospital, to see what really happened to your arm," She suggested, but Hat Kid got up and smiled nervously.

"You worry too much. I'll be fine," She replied, but Bow Kid frowned at her.

"You took a direct hit with your arm by a one ton iron wrecking ball. I'd be surprised if you _**don't**_ have a serious injury," She reminded Hat Kid, who frowned in response.

"It was in a Time Rift, so physics work differently, I could've taken less force than I would've here," Hat Kid explained, but Bow Kid shot her an annoyed glare.

"If physics work differently, you could've taken **MORE. **I don't care what you say, I'm taking you to a hospital, even if it means I have to drag you there kicking and screaming," Bow Kid threatened.

Hat Kid scowled. "I'm _**fine,**_" She said with emphasis, but Bow Kid wouldn't hear any of it.

"No. You're. Not. I've known you for little over a year now, I can tell when you're fine or not," Bow Kid responded.

Hat Kid turned and stared into Bow Kid's eyes, tears streaming down her face. "_**I don't want to be a nuisance! A burden! A liability!**_" She yelled in distress, "And I don't want you to worry yourself sick over me! You mean the Universe to me! I don't want to be a cause of **your misery!**"

Bow Kid didn't know how to respond to this. "Y-you actually think of yourself like that? Just the cause of people's misery?" She asked, then Hat Kid turned around and sighed, silently answering your question. She ran up to her captain and hugged her. "You saved my life. You saved Mafia Town. You're the best movie star the bird world has seen. You helped the Subcon. You saved Alpine Skyline. You have done so much good, and you are such a good person. You aren't a nuisance, you're the exact pecking opposite of one!" She continued, and Hat Kid looked at her.

"But what about Snatcher? Moustache Girl? The Mafia themselves? My own planet? They're all suffering or miserable because of me or hate me!" She said in despair.

"Snatcher is a tsundere, he won't admit it but I know he cares for both of us. Moustache Girl is misguided and lost, The Mafia are a special case, and I've already told you, you're planet is _not your fault. _It's that guy who stole your Time Pieces' fault. So, don't be so hard on yourself," Bow Kid reassured. "And about me worrying for you, you mean the Universe to me, as well, you can't expect me not to worry about you. You're a good person, possibly the best person in the Universe. You don't deserve to suffer, so I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't. That's why I was willing to lay down my life for you,"

Hearing this, Hat Kid sniffled and hugged her first officer with her good arm. "Ok. You're right," She said shakily. "Thank you. For everything."

"My pleasure," Bow Kid replied, and they jumped down to the planet below, landing near the hospital. They went inside, and there was practically no one there. Bow Kid ran up to reception and rang a bell, and heard muffled talking, but no one came.

Hat Kid walked up to Bow Kid to see what was going on, but tripped, and smashed her arm right into the counter. A horrible crunching/squelching noise was heard, and Hat Kid's face lost all emotion and simply went pale, and slowly looked at her arm, and her sleeve was being soaked crimson red.

She poked her arm to see what had happened, and pain unlike anything she had ever felt before exploded along her arm and her upper body, causing her to fall to her knees, crying and screaming.

Bow Kid rang the bell a dozen more times. "We need help over here!"

No one came. She rang the bell a dozen more times. "**SOMEBODY! **_**HELP!**_"

Someone finally came out to reception, and Bow Kid could not believe her eyes on who it was.


	38. Chapter 37: Double Trouble

Chapter 37: Double Trouble

**A/N: I'm going to do a lot of writing this week, hopefully I can get this finished up quickly so I can begin work on the prequel. Then, I'll begin work on the prequel. I also have another idea I have for another story or set of stories for A Hat In Time, but I won't say much about it for now. So, as you can see, it's going to be awhile before I finally stop writing about this game.**

The receptionist of Dead Bird Studio walked out from behind hospital reception, and raised his eyebrow.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked skeptically, and Bow Kid ran over to Hat Kid.

"I could ask _you_ the same thing!" Bow Kid yelled back, startling the receptionist slightly. "Don't ask how, but she got hit in her arm and we think it's broken, and now look!"

The receptionist walked over to Hat Kid, who was still crying out from the pain, and saw her arm coated in blood. "Oh pecking peck, don't show me that, I just ate!" He shouted, and Bow Kid stared furiously at him, surprised by his foul language.

"She needs help! Now!" She shouted back.

"This hospital is closing down! Something happened that they won't tell us and now they're closing! That's why I'm here!" The startled receptionist replied.

Then, Bow Kid's doctor came out to see what was going on, and saw Hat Kid on the floor and her bloodied arm, and ran over.

"What on earth happened?" He asked disapprovingly.

"She got hit in her arm, she needs help!" Bow Kid responded.

The doctor called an ambulance from a different hospital to come, which seemed to take an eternity for both girls. They came in, put Hat Kid on a gurney and wheeled her inside the waiting ambulance, then Bow Kid climbed inside and sat down next to Hat Kid. The ambulance took off.

It seemed to be another eternity until they arrived at the ER of the new hospital, and they immediately took Hat Kid in for an x-ray. When they got the results of the x-ray back, it wasn't good. Her arm was fractured in 4 different spots, so they took her in for an operation.

Bow Kid was sitting in the waiting room with her face in her hands when she heard the door to the waiting room open and footsteps. Then, she heard two voices arguing that sounded very familiar.

"Conductor, darling, we have to wait here until she's awake!" DJ Grooves stated annoyedly at the angered bird, who stomped his foot.

"I don't give a peck! They can at least tell me what happened to the lass, but _noo_, all they say is 'Oh, she's having an operation right now'," Conductor replied angrily, "Oh, thank ye, that's _very _helpful! The employees at the other hospital were **much **better at their jobs!"

DJ Grooves went pale when he heard how loud his rival was being. "They probably would've made us wait as well! It's an_ operation_, darling! You can't just bust in! Now keep your voice down, this is a public place, not the studio!" He said disapprovingly.

Conductor grumbled. "Fine, then. I guess I'll wait here," He replied, defeated, then sat down.

"Conductor? Grooves?" Bow Kid mumbled, and both birds turned to her.

"Yer here too, lass?" Conductor asked.

"Oh, hello, darling," DJ Grooves said tiredly.

"Why are you two here?" Bow Kid asked, and Grooves sighed.

"We heard something bad happened involving you two, so we came here. No one can tell us what happened, though," The penguin explained tiredly.

"Woke me up in the middle of the night and won't even tell me what for, how dare they!" Conductor grumbled angrily.

"We were doing some exploration, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, and a wrecking ball collided with her, right in her arm," Bow Kid explained sadly, "Her arm is fractured really badly, so they took her in for an operation."

"Oh, my. That sounds terrible, darling!" DJ Grooves replied, and Conductor shook his head miserably.

"Well, you both should stay, she'll be happy to see you two here when she wakes up, you both mean a lot to her," She said weakly.

"We aren't going anywhere, lassie. It'd take all of Dead Bird Studio security to take me away!" Conductor said somewhat braggingly, and Bow Kid smiled. "So, if they want to bring us away, they'll have to prepare for trouble!"

"And make that double," DJ Grooves finished smoothly.

Bow Kid smiled at seeing the bird directors getting along so well. This actually sparked an idea for her. "Have you two thought of collaborating for a movie?" She inquired.

"Oh, trust me, lassie, we have, but our tastes are too different. We wouldn't be able to get an agreement on a single thing!" Conductor answered whimsically, "He loves technology and that kind of stuff, whereas I think it's all a bunch of pecking drivel!"

"Hey, now, darling, no need to be rude," DJ Grooves said disapprovingly, "Besides, I think similarly of your train and steampunk ideas, but you don't hear me being rude, now do you?"

"Ye called it boring, lame, dead, and unsophisticated!" Conductor replied annoyedly.

"Yes, but that isn't calling it 'p-ing drivel', now is it?" The penguin replied, and The Conductor grumbled, knowing he lost the argument.

"Well, I guess let's just wait and see what happens," Bow Kid replied, which they did. They waited for around 5 hours until a nurse came in and said Hat Kid was ready to see visitors. The trio followed the nurse down some hallways into a room, where Hat Kid was waiting with her arm wrapped in a cast.

She smiled when she saw the three people she cared so deeply for enter the room.

"How's your arm?" Bow Kid asked.

"Okay, I guess," Hat Kid replied uncertainly. "I feel better now that you're all here." Suddenly, the room was shrouded in shadow and a certain shadow demon emerged into the room, causing DJ Grooves to take off his shades and Conductor's jaw/beak to drop.

"Who the peck are ye?" Conductor shouted.

"**Hey, that's uncalled for! I just enter the room and someone's already shouting at me!**" Snatcher replied calmly. "**Name's Snatcher. I'm the reason no one enters or leaves that dark forest near your studio.**"

"Snatcher, why are you here?" Bow Kid asked, and Hat Kid grinned.

"Did you miss us? Were you scared that one of your favourite little servants got hurt?" Hat Kid mocked.

Snatcher would've grinned, but forced himself to cringe. "**Kid, if I was alive I'd have vomited at the thought of that. I just wanted to make sure my archenemy hasn't died by anything other than my wrath!**" He answered with bravado, making a grandiose yet would-be intimidating gesture over her, and DJ Grooves was going to get between them when Hat Kid giggled.

"Mhm, sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that, I'm sure your minions still think of you as _tough_ and _mean_," Hat Kid mocked further.

"**Well, you're not dead (unfortunately), so I have no reason to stay here. Smell you later!**" Snatcher said happily, then disappeared. Both birds turned to the girls with questioning looks.

"The two of ye _know_ that... that _thing?_" Conductor asked in a shocked manner.

"We ventured into his forest and he, uh, took our souls and made us do his work," Hat Kid explained. "That's why we sort of disappeared for a week."

"I've heard tales of that place, and that shadow, but I never thought they were real. I thought they were just old wives' tales used to scare children," DJ Grooves said with amazement.

"Oh, they scare children alright," Bow Kid mumbled, "Thinking about Queen Vanessa's Manor still makes me want to crawl under a chair and hide."

DJ Grooves checked the time, and said that they needed to leave, which they promptly did. Then, Bow Kid smiled at Hat Kid and took some items from her pockets, which made Hat Kid smile. The Storybook Pages from Dead Bird Studio and Subcon Forest.

Bow Kid put aside the ones from Subcon and put together the ones from the studio, which turned into a book, which on the title displayed the Annual Bird Movie Award and was called 'Conductor (and) Grooves' Big Dreams'.

Bow Kid turned to the first page, which displayed an old, western house in a desert on the left, and a fancy, futuristic house on the moon on the right. She turned to the next page, which showed a young Conductor on a train track floor and Grooves on a futuristic floor both watching the same thing on TV in amazement.

Bow Kid turned to the next page, which showed a bird on TV advertizing the Annual Bird Movie Award. She turned the page again, which showed both birds thinking of the same thing, winning the award.

The next page showed a smaller Dead Bird Studio with the sign 'For Rent' above it and a lock on the door. It also showed Conductor walking from the left and Grooves walking from the right both toward the studio, and showed a key in both birds' hands. The page after that showed the two meeting at the studio entrance, and them being surprised to see a key in the other person's hand.

The next page then showed the two in a heated argument, and the final page showed the studio as it is today, with Conductor's set on the left and Grooves' set on the right.

Bow Kid closed the book, and looked toward her captain, who shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, now for the Subcon Forest one," Bow Kid said happily, and put together the pages, and both girls cringed when they saw the cover, which was a heart slashed in two. The book's title was: "The tale of Queen Vanessa". Both girls knew this would not be a happy ending.

Bow Kid opened the book to the first page, which showed a man with brown hair, red attire, and a crown holding hands with a woman with blond hair, a green spade dress, and a crown of her own. The amount of pink hearts dotted throughout the page showed that they were lovers. They guessed that the woman was Queen Vanessa (probably in a past life) and the man was her prince.

The following page showed Vanessa happily chatting with what seemed to be children wearing the same masks the Dwellers wear. Hat Kid gasped.

"Wait, that can't be right!" She said in surprise, "That would mean the Dwellers are the ghosts of children!"

Bow Kid nodded sadly and turned to the next page, which showed Vanessa with a shocked expression looking at her prince holding hands with another woman, both smiling. The next page showed a distressed Vanessa in darkness, tears streaming down her face with a picture of a broken heart.

The following page showed the prince and the woman, and the page showed that he was just buying flowers from her, and he was giving her a coin. The prince was clearly confused and saw Vanessa running away in distress.

The page after that showed the prince holding flowers trying to talk to Vanessa, a picture of the two with the prince's face slashed out, and Vanessa in the corner, shadows manifesting over her entire body and some of her tears turning to ice. Her hands were looking eerily similar to talons.

The next page showed the prince being taken away by two intimidating knights while Vanessa was looking creepily similar to the shadow figure she now was, ice crystals at her feet.

The second last page made both girls gasp, and it showed a dark figure with golden eyes chained in a dungeon, his crown at his side, and dark hair around his neck. The final page showed the queen in her shadow form, her blood red eyes staring coldly out at the world.

So, that explained both Snatcher and Vanessa's origins, but it still doesn't explain Badge Seller. Or should they call him Moon Jumper? They didn't know. Suddenly, a familiar mysterious voice echoed through the room.

"_Yes, Snatcher was Queen Vanessa's prince, and the Dwellers of the forest are the damned children that lived there in the golden days of the Kingdom of Subcon,_" Badge Seller said, "_You are both likely wondering who I am now._"

Hat Kid nodded slowly, wondering how he got in. "_He and I are an unlikely pair. When the prince died, his shadow and body split into two different beings, one taking certain qualities of the former monarch,_" The merchant explained sadly, "_He is the Prince's shadow, and I am his body._"

Hat Kid's jaw dropped. "So, you're a walking corpse?" She asked

"_That is a... blunt way of saying it, but, yes. The shadow inherited his stubborness, leadership, love of reading, and most of his magical abilities, whereas I inherited his mercy, respect, salesmanship, and most of his physical abilities,_" He answered, "_I shall be leaving now. Take care, young ones._"

The merchant then disappeared in a veil of darkness, leaving behind a perplexed Hat Kid and Bow Kid. Bow Kid turned to her captain and smiled at her. "It's getting late, I should be going now as well, you need rest," She stated tiredly, "I'll come visit tomorrow, hopefully you'll be out of here soon."

"Okay," Hat Kid replied, "Good night."

"Good night," Bow Kid said, then left and returned to the spaceship. She then went to bed and fell asleep. They would have to take care of the other rifts another time.


	39. Chapter 38: Some strange rifts

Chapter 38: Some strange rifts

Five days had passed when Hat Kid's arm was fully healed. Her being a Time Lord contributed to her rapid recovery. So, they returned to the spaceship and jumped down to the Twilight Bell, remembering the picture showing the Rift there, so they could deal with the two rifts before they leave for the Arctic Cruise, which was leaving the next day at noon.

They landed next to the rift and entered it. The rift was full of giant goats and green platforms, so they equipped their Dweller Masks and advanced carefully through the rift, evading the goats and jumping to the next platforms.

This was a simple enough task for them until they reached the end, where a red bell and some purple platforms and a large purple wall awaited them. They waited for the bell to pass by and jumped over to the first purple platform, then jumped and wallclimbed up to the next one, but stopped at the wall.

Hat Kid jumped and activated her mask, then dove down and deactivated it so she could land on a purple platform below. Bow Kid saw this and did the same. Ahead laid the Time Piece, which Hat Kid quickly grabbed and sealed the rift with, transporting the girls and the dozen confused goats back to the Twilight Bell.

"I know you guys don't speak but just in case, don't tell anyone about this," Hat Kid said awkwardly, and the goats nodded slowly.

The girls then used the Time Piece to take them back to the Goat Village, and took the zipline to the Old Windmill, and climbed up to the yellow zipline leading to the small village of the cats, which they learned were called the Lazy Paw Gang. Fitting name, if you asked them.

They jumped onto the first house they saw and climbed into the Time Rift. Strangely, they didn't see any of the cats around, which worried them slightly. The girls jumped forward and walljumped up to a large T shaped platform.

However, a cat stopped them and took Hat Kid's hat. They quickly defeated the feline and used their ice hats to bounce over to another platform. From there, they hopped onto some platforms and attacked more cats, until they came to a large gear with what looked like makeshift housing made of the Time Crystal to the back of the gear.

The one on the left opened, but they didn't see anything come out, so they already had a feeling what was going to happen, and when the cats tried attacking them, they dodged and counterattacked perfectly, sending the troublesome felines unconscious.

Then, the one on the right opened, but when they tried countering, the cats dodged and counter-countered. However, when they tried attacking again, both girls jumped into the air and homing attacked them, which knocked them out cold as well.

They heard a hiss, and the middle one opened, and they took a different battle stance. They heard a strangely accented laughter, and a voice.

"You two brats don't give up, do you?" One cat, dressed differently, said as they appeared and disappeared in an amused pose.

"Never!" Hat Kid replied.

"Very well," The cat, who they guessed was the leader, muttered. She then hissed again, and four different cats attacked them at once, knocking them back. They got up and stood back to back, and began waving frantically with their umbrellas, until they accidentally began spinning around with their umbrellas, which surprised the cats so much they messed up their camouflage and got whacked hard, knocking all except the leader unconscious.

"Ugh, why do I always have to do things myself?" They hissed, and Hat Kid crossed her arms.

"Just let us go. We aren't here to bother you or anything. We just want that hourglass thing up there," She said calmly.

"Wait, really? That's it?" The cat said, clearly surprised, and Bow Kid nodded. "Well, uh, I guess you can go take it. They're useless to us anyway."

Hat Kid smiled and a platform was raised behind the middle hut, which they climbed upon, and Hat Kid grabbed the Time Piece.

"Uh, now that we have this, though, this place will disappear," Hat Kid explained nervously, and the cat raised an eyebrow.

"What?" They asked angrily as they reappeared on top of the house.

"Sorry!" Hat Kid shouted as she and Bow Kid took off into the sky, leaving behind a very angry cat.

When they got inside the spaceship, Hat Kid checked how many Time Pieces they now had. She was pleased to see that they had 35/46 collected. 11 more to go, 76% of the Time Pieces accounted for. They were going to be able to leave very soon.

Hat Kid frowned. But, again, should they leave? Yes, she has to make sure that the Time Pieces can't be abused by _**him**_ anymore, and he has to help her people, but someone else can do that. She's still just a little girl. She shook her head again. No, they can't take any risks, not with somethink as ungodly powerful as the Time Pieces and someone as dangerous as him.

She was about to turn to Bow Kid and smile when a familiar, annoying alarm blared out throughout the ship.

**WARNING. TIME RIFT DETECTED.**

"Are you pecking kidding me?!" Hat Kid pouted as she tapped the monitor, displaying a purple Time Rift in the Goat Village. "I am sick and tired of doing Time Rifts."

"Yeah, same, but we need to do this," Bow Kid replied, and Hat Kid nodded annoyedly. Hopefully this rift wouldn't end with injury.


	40. Chapter 39: Constellation

Chapter 39: Constellation

**A/N: Hat Kid's reaction to the purple rift last chapter is basically how I think of these rifts. I am sick and tired of writing about them. At least it'll be over soon.**

They landed where they typically land at Goat Village and saw the rift, then entered it promptly.

When they landed, they landed on an outcrop; surprisingly, it was raining. They quickly jumped over to a larger outcrop and climbed it to the top, but Hat Kid looked around and found a storybook page.

They jumped through the Rift Gate and landed on another outcrop with some tightropes leading to other, larger cliffs. They split up, Hat Kid taking the left and Bow Kid taking the right, and collected each Rift Pon on the cliffs, and Hat Kid collected a Storybook Page, but Bow Kid had to knock out some cats first.

They both swung off of hookshot clamps to the middle outcrop and climbed a large stone tablet up to the Rift Gate. After jumping in, they landed on a wood platform and walked across a tightrope, then climbed up a tall outcrop, collected a Rift Pon, and swung over to an outcrop with some lava on it.

Hat Kid jumped down onto some platforms and collected a Rift Pon on a hut, then returned up to Bow Kid, and they jumped on top of a burning tree in the lava, grabbing a pon in the process, then swung over to another, much larger outcrop.

They landed on the upper cliff of the outcrop, which had a rift pon and a large wooden pole in a hot stream of water, and out of curiosity, Hat Kid found a way to get on top of the pole and grabbed another Storybook Page.

The girls then jumped down to the lower, larger part of the outcrop, which had some goats, and strangely, some C.A.W. Agents on it hanging around. They found some more Rift Pons and grabbed them, then returned to the original platform they landed on, then walked across another tightrope to the Rift Gate, which they then entered.

The two then landed on a large vertical stone outcrop and ran across a large stone bridge, then jumped on a broken stone pillar and jumped up to another outcrop. From there, they jumped onto a floating stone cube and saw some floating, broken green pillars and used their masks to jump across them.

Hat Kid grabbed a Rift Pon and both girls jumped onto a stone cube with a Rift Pon hanging off of a stone wall with water spilling from the top, then jumped on said wall, which was actually a bridge with water spewing across it.

Hat Kid saw a floating grain storage off to the left and swung off of a hookshot clamp over to it, snatching a Rift Pon in the process, then returned. The girls then saw a small stone ledge they could run across, and saw a hookshot clamp floating off the side to it, and sidestepped across the ledge, then swung off of the clamp on top of a bird house, which had a Storybook Page on it, which Hat Kid promptly grabbed.

The girls jumped down to the lowest level of the birdhouse and walked inside, and a Rift Pon was there, which Bow Kid grabbed. They returned back to the outcrop they originally landed on and jumped over to the left, landing on another stone bridge with water running off of it, and Bow Kid looked down off the edge of the bridge and saw a platform beneath it.

She jumped down to said platform and saw the final Storybook Page, which she grabbed, and jumped back up. Hat Kid then jumped inside a large birdhouse which looked strangely similar to the first birdhouse they went inside in The Birdhouse itself, and Bow Kid followed suit.

They then avoided some birds and an egg as they quickly ran and jumped to the top of the birdhouse, where a Rift Pon was awaiting them. The girls then jumped out of the birdhouse onto some small turning gears, and Hat Kid climbed to the top of the mechanism and grabbed the last Rift Pon.

They then jumped down to the large stone bridge and jumped inside a strangely marked birdhouse, which had the final Rift Gate in it. The girls opened the gate and jumped through, landing on a circular, tall stone platform, and saw the Rift Heart laying on a strange circular platform ahead.

Hat Kid dashed forward and whacked the Heart, then stomped on it. She then homing attacked it and quickly switched to her Ice Hat, and stomped on it with that, breaking it completely.

She grabbed the Time Piece gleefully and used it to seal the Rift, and they were suddenly back in Alpine Skyline. The girls then returned to the ship.

Hat Kid put the Time Piece away, and grinned at the amount of Time Pieces left.

"Start the final countdown!" She shouted jubilantly, "10 left and we're finally done!"

"Good, good," Bow Kid muttered.

"Well, are you ready for a vacation? I know I am!" Hat Kid shouted, and Bow Kid nodded.

"Let's pack our bags so we don't need to return to the ship," She suggested, and Hat Kid nodded.

They proceeded to do just that, but before they jumped down to the planet, they put the Storybook Pages together.

The cover of the book showed a mountain with a bell constellation above it in a starry sky, and the book's title was "The Twilight Ascent". They could guess what the book was going to be about.

Hat Kid turned to the first page. It showed a goat with a cane or staff being led by a constellation of an arrow. The next page showed an astounded goat finding Alpine Skyline, and seeing a peak covered in markings, sparkles, and glitter, which they guessed was the peak where the Twilight Bell was built.

The following page showed the goat's trek up the mountainside to the top. The penultimate page showed the Goat finally resting, meditating on top of the peak with an aura around him and bells clanging in the background, and the very last page showed the Goat becoming one with the cosmos, becoming a constellation.

Hat Kid smiled. The first book they got that didn't have a bad ending. Well, depending on your point of view, Mafia's Grand Voyage could be considered either good or bad, but they considered it bad.

Hat Kid put the book away and cracked her knuckles, then the two girls jumped down to the arctic circle of the planet. Little did they know this 'relaxing vacation' would soon reveal to be a chaotic mess for not only them, but everyone.


	41. Chapter 40: Smooth Sailing

Chapter 40: Smooth Sailing

**A/N: Perhaps writing about this chapter won't be as bad as I first thought. I at least know it won't be as torturous to write as Alpine Skyline, so that's a bonus, and at least it's super short. Also, I forgot about the whole Mafia Boss in the spaceship thing so I merged that into here. I'm also not going to put much, or any, detail into the Time Rifts of Arctic Cruise because it would sever the acts into two.**

They landed on a large, well-lit path, and saw the dock far ahead. They looked around and saw some Moon Penguins, Express Owls, the Conductor, and what they presumed were his grandchildren, waiting around. Relaxing music was playing, and Hat Kid took in a deep breath and let out a sigh.

She smiled, seeing that the cruise would most likely be 'smooth sailing' (she intended that pun), and they both talked to some Express Owls, one stating that they were looking forward to riding something else than a train, and the other saying that they can't wait to get in the pool because Owls love water.

They then walked up to what looked to be a very stereotypical tourist and talked to him.

"Hey, kids! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get to the Sun these days," He said calmly, then grumbled something about 'that darn Steve'. Hat Kid gave him a blank stare.

"That's probably because if you got just barely close to it, you would crash and burn, literally," Hat Kid deadpanned.

"Anyway, I thought I'd take some time to relax! This should be smooth sailing, huh?" He said happily, and Hat Kid grinned at seeing the tourist having a similar sense of humour to her.

The girls then talked to some Moon Penguins, who admitted that they weren't good swimmers, that they got a '2-flipper discount', which Hat Kid did not like what that likely meant, and another saying that DJ Grooves decided to take a break from moviemaking after the whole Award Ceremony incident.

After that, they talked to the Conductor.

"Well, if it ain't the little lassies! How's stardom treatin' ye?" He asked calmly, and Hat Kid smiled, and he turned to Bow Kid. "Oh, and sorry about the whole, uh, knife incident." He then scratched his head nervously and smiled. "What's a wee argument between colleagues though, lassie?" He asked with amusement, and Bow Kid tilted her head.

He then sighed relaxedly. "Anyway, I'd better go ask about the childcare on board. I love these little blighters, but I cannae bring them into the bar with me, can I?" He said happily, and Hat Kid stared daggers at him.

"I thought you promised to stay away from alcohol," She reminded the bird in a betrayed tone.

"No, I promised not to drink meself stupid. This is different," He replied calmly, and Hat Kid huffed.

"Just... please, watch yourself," She begged, and he nodded.

"Won't happen again, lassie. Anyway, ye both should get on board, the ship should be leavin' soon," He suggested, and Hat Kid smiled and hugged him. He hugged her back, and then the girls walked toward the dock.

The girls were stopped when they heard the captain, a walrus, talking on a walkie talkie.

"Are we ready to sail?" He asked miserably, and cringed at the quality of the response, which was inaudible to both girls. The captain then sighed and turned off his walkie talkie, and both girls giggled.

They then talked to a small seal awaiting for them, and their voice and mannerisms nearly made Hat Kid die from adorable-ness.

"We hope you have a great time!" The seal said happily, with the dialect of a toddler. Hat Kid smiled at the seal, and were going to talk to the other seal when the captain noticed them.

"Uhhh, you both look a little young to be sailing alone, pups." He said, clearly confused.

"We're sailing with adults we know very well, like the Conductor," Hat Kid explained to try to get the captain off their case.

"Whatever. Just don't get in anyone's way. The 'crew' do enough of that already," He grumbled while motioning toward one of the seals, and Hat Kid nodded.

The girls walked forward and saw a humanoid fish, and talked to it, trying to hide their confusion and uncomfortability with the situation.

"Hey there, dudes. Dudettes, I mean," The fish said like a stereotypical surfer/hippie dude. "I'm like, ready for a nice cruise, aren't you?" Hat Kid nodded. "Hopefully there's nothing _fishy _about this ship, y'know. I got ripped off on a dodgy vacation last year. It was like, not rad at all," He explained sadly, and Hat Kid frowned.

The girls then walked forward and saw something even stranger, a jar sitting on a suitcase accompanied by a Mafia Goon.

"So, we meet again! My archnemesis!" The jar shouted in a familiar accent, and Hat Kid tilted her head. "**WHAT! **You don't remember me?! How rude!"

Bow Kid giggled, and the jar stared into Hat Kid's soul. "It's me! Boss of the Mafia, remember?" He explained tiredly, and Hat Kid's eyes widened.

"How did this happen?" She asked, shocked.

"You killed me in our little dispute, and your friend took my corpse and mashed my remains into a jar! I should be furious!" He shouted, and Hat Kid clenched her fists and began shaking.

"When I find her, I'm going to whack some sense into her!" She promised the boss.

"But, it's okay. The past is in the past, and I'll accept your carcass as an apology!" He yelled, and Hat Kid stepped back, apalled.

Bow Kid got in between them. "That's not going to happen," She said seriously.

"WHAT? You won't hand it over? Such nerve on young children! If I had hands, I would slap you!" He yelled furiously, hopping up and down in rage. "Whatever! I'll just buy a new body! There has to be some poor soul out there willing to trade their corpse for money!"

"What are you doing here anyway?" Hat Kid asked, and he snarled angrily.

"First, you kill me, then you torment me by booking passage on the only cruise liner here with facilities for people in jars!" He grumbled in a fury, "Such rude little children! If I were not in a pleasant holiday mood (before you showed up), and still without a body, I would take my reveange right here and now!"

Both girls giggled. "I'd kill you again, easily!" Hat Kid taunted, then Bow Kid stared at her and she cringed at what she just said. The girls then explored more of the dock and found a stack of large crates, but one had eyeholes in it, purple flora growing beneath it, and a dark aura around it.

Hat Kid tapped the box to see what was inside, and was deeply surprised to hear a familiar demonic voice clear it's throat.

"**AHAHAHAHAHAHA! FOOOOoooo... wait a minute,**" The box grumbled in Snatcher's voice, "**It's you two, **_**again?**_"

Hat Kid grinned. "Did you miss us so much you decided to come on the same cruise as us? I'm honoured!" She taunted, and Snatcher groaned.

"**Ugh. You both show up in my forest, assault me, refuse to leave,** **and then turn up to ruin my vacation too?**" He asked tiredly.

"Hey, you stole our souls, made us your _worthless slaves_, trapped us, put us through many traumatic, life-endangering events, and then stabbed us in the back in the end," Hat Kid defended, "I think we had pretty good ground for beating the peck out of you!"

"**You two really are just the worst, kiddo,**" Snatcher stated.

"Are you really hiding in a box? The Mighty Shadow Demon Snatcher? Stealer of souls? King of Subcon? The Great Contractor?" Hat Kid mocked.

"**Yes, I'm hiding in a crate. Tickets are expensive,**" He confirmed, and Hat Kid laughed. Both girls then ran off to the end of the dock and saw a purple Time Rift there.

"You have. Got to be. Kidding. Me," Hat Kid hissed, then sighed. Both girls entered the rift, which was an undersea rift, and navigated through it, collecting every Rift Pon and Storybook Page, seeing undersea castles, sea stars, urchins, a shipwreck, and an undersea volcano. When they broke the Rift Heart, they sealed the Rift and returned to the dock.

"When we get checked in, I'm taking a nap," Hat Kid promised as she put together the book, which was nerve-wrackingly titled "Lost At Sea". "I hope that isn't an omen to events about to happen,"

Bow Kid nodded, and Hat Kid turned to the first page which showed a younger taking a course on cruise liners. The next page showed the captain with a graduation cap on holding a degree with the seal professor putting his flipper on his shoulder.

The following page showed the captain looking at ship assignments thinking about somethink involving him and his professor. The next page showed the captain looking at what was either a to-do list or blueprints, with the seal professor talking to him and some young seals off to the side doing something, with two ships in the background.

The page after that showed the Captain and his crew getting on the white ship with the professor getting on the red ship, leaving the Captain. The next page showed the ship with the text 'Years Later...' at the top.

The next page showed a sleeping captain thinking about him and his seal professor friend with a young seal trying to wake him up to read a letter. The penultimate page showed a devastated captain reading the letter with the acronym 'R.I.P.' written on it, and a picture in the background of the red ship sinking, with the seal professor in the background.

The very last page showed the Captain as he is now, moody and always with a ciggarette in his mouth. Hat Kid closed the book and neither girl said anything. So that's what 'Lost At Sea' meant.

Regardless, the ship must've been very near taking off without them, so they went back and walked up the ramp to the ship, then jumped over a gap to a red carpet platform. They climbed up a metal grate up to the next platform, then the girls noticed the ship was named the 'S.S. Literally Can't Sink', which unnerved them both.

They swung off a hookshot clamp to a floating platform with some suitcases on it. The girls then swung off another clamp and climbed a metal grate up to another platform. They swung off _another _hookshot clamp and climbed _another _metal grate up to another platform. There was a very long gap between the next platforms, and they had to double jump and dive to get to the hookshot clamp in front of it.

They turned mid-swing and jumped up to the last platform, and ran up to the ship, and to a seal holding an arrow pointing to the right.

"Welcome aboard!" The seal welcomed, then a voice came over the intercom.

"Attention, this is your Captain speaking... Is this thing turned on?" The captain muttered, then cleared his throat, "All passengers, please check in at the lobby desk. I'll be on board shortly."

They went right and went through a door, then saw a seal holding an arrow pointing downward.

"Careful, miss, it's a long drop!" The seal warned, and Hat Kid smiled. She liked being called 'Miss'.

They jumped off and held out their umbrellas to break their fall, and saw another seal holding an arrow pointing toward a door leading into a small hallway.

"The reception is this way, miss!" The seal informed, and the girls went through the hallway. They then saw another seal holding a downward pointing arrow, and jumped down to a lower level, then jumped down again.

They saw another seal holding an arrow pointing to a larger, more grand halllway, and went into the hallway. They saw some blocked double doors leading to the kitchen, and walked forward, jumping over some luggage, and continuing into the hallway, jumping over some seals dashing from room to room, hard at work, then heard a dinging of bells.

"Attention, passengers, and 'crew'," The captain began, then the ship rumbled. "The ship is now leaving. Please try not to fall off." The girls walked through the glass double doors and ran up to the flashy reception desk.

"Hello?" Hat Kid asked.

"Hello, miss! I presume you're here to get checked in and get your room key?" The seal asked, and Hat Kid nodded, "Uhh, where are your parents? They should be here to get checked in."

Hat Kid went pale, and Bow Kid frowned. "We're, uh, orphans," She explained uncomfortably.

"Oh, my apologies, miss, do you have a guardian?" The seal asked.

"No, we take care of ourselves," Hat Kid answered.

"Okaay, well, do you have your tickets?" The seal asked again, and both girls gave them their tickets. "Do you want two rooms or one room with two beds?"

"One room, please," Hat Kid replied, and the seal typed something into the computer.

"Okay, miss, you're both checked in, here's your room key!" The seal said as they handed Hat Kid the room key, and she smiled.

"Thank you!" She said, then checked what room it was. Room 310. The girls took an elevator and made their way to their room, which Hat Kid opened the door to. When they got inside the luxurious room and saw how large and comfortable the beds looked, they both dropped their bags and jumped in, and fell asleep.

So far, this cruise really has been smooth sailing. They just hoped finding the Time Pieces would be this simple.

However, their wishes would not be granted.


	42. Chapter 41: Broken

Chapter 41: Broken

When they woke up, they went to the dining room to get some breakfast, then went to reception, as they decided to quickly check for Time Pieces before decided to relax.

"Have you seen any strange hourglasses?" She asked the seal receptionist.

"You're looking for something that looks like this?" He asked back, holding up a poorly drawn yet accurate drawing of a Time Piece, and Hat Kid nodded, "Hmmm, where have I seen that... Thinking very hard..."

He then had a flashback and remembered. "Oh! I remember! We broke one of those and hid it from the Captain! He wouldn't be very happy if he knew we made a mess," He explained, and Hat Kid gave him a horrified stare.

"_**WHAT?!**_" She yelled, causing the seal to become flustered.

"We tried to clean it up, but, um, hm. We didn't do a very good job, and we lost some of the pieces," The seal tried defending, but it angered Hat Kid even more, and she began pulling on her braids and pouting furiously, which made the seal even more upset. "I'm very sorry, miss! Please don't be upset!"

She then sighed, seeing how flustered the seal was by her anger, and she calmed down.

"Whatever, maybe I can still fix it," She said weakly, then walked over to the Time Piece and examined it. She was surprised to see that there wasn't a Time Rift made, but sometimes Time Pieces, when broken, become a 'dud' and don't mess up Time. It's very rare, like a one in a trillion chance, but possible. "Hmm. This damage is serious, it's in more pieces in one, which is _terrible,_" She explained to her first officer, who tilted her head, "Perhaps we could stick it back together if we find all the Time Shards, and it seems that there's one in every room."

They jumped up to a platform connecting two rooms in the upper level of the area, and jumped on to a pile of luggage, seeing the shard behind a fan with a broken arm. They didn't feel like getting sliced to bits, so Hat Kid put on her Dweller Mask and activated it as she dove toward the piece, and to her luck, it phased out of existence, and she grabbed the shard before the fan could reappear and shred her to pieces.

They then came back to the platform and talked to a Moon Penguin.

"You feelin' lucky, kids?" The penguin asked suspiciously, and they went into the next room, which was a casino. They could feel the temporal aura of a Time artifact coming from a slot machine, and figured they'd have to activate the machine to get it to spit out the shard, so they found some casino chips and put them in, and sure enough, out popped the shard.

Hat Kid picked up the shard eagerly, perhaps too eagerly as she cut her hand on it and dropped it with a slight groan of annoyance and pain. However, to both girls' amazement, the wound seemed to reverse and disappear.

"Huh," Hat Kid said surprisedly, "Neither my guardian nor The Academy told me about this."

"No matter, let's continue," Bow Kid said, and they did so.

They looked up and saw a grand prize of 5 million pons available, which made Hat Kid's jaw drop. Out of curiosity, she tried talking to a seal at a desk, but they didn't see her, so she jumped up on the table.

"Hmmm. You look too young to gamble to me. Sorry, miss!" The seal said apologetically, but she waved in a dismissive way to show she was fine with it. "Also, please stay off the desk."

From there, they walljumped back up to the rafters of the casino and jumped on the other side from where they came from, and saw the fish dude there, who noticed them immediately.

"Oh, hey, dudettes," The fish said calmly, "I was just chilling, y'know, and I noticed this broken glass around. Weird, right?"

"Uhhh, yeah... Those shards belong to us," Hat Kid said awkwardly, and the fish made a motioin that would seem like raising an eyebrow. "Don't ask."

"It belongs to you? Uh, cool, I guess, no judgement, y'know," The fish rambled uncomfortably, "Pretty _gnarly _picking up that stuff with your bare hands, but like, whatever floats your boat, y'know."

The girls went forward and were concerned to see a leaking tank, but saw a shard in a pipe, which Hat Kid grabbed very carefully. From there, they went through the helm of the boat to the dining room, and saw an aura emanating from a Mafia, and Hat Kid went pale. He didn't ingest it, did he?

They walked toward the annoyed Mafia, but Bow Kid wasn't paying attention and a table collided into her, knocking her back with a shout, causing everyone to turn to them. Hat Kid helped Bow Kid up, and they walked toward the Mafia Goon, who put a plate down, which the aura was actually emanating from, and Bow Kid breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mafia bit down on something hard in this food! Child should take it back to kitchen, please!" The Mafia said both angrily and desperately, and Hat Kid took the plate with amazement. She never thought the Mafia were capable of asking nicely, she thought they just shouted orders like they were the boss of everyone.

They walked toward the kitchen, but were stopped by a flustered seal.

"Oops, we forgot to secure the tables! They're sliding all over the place!" The seal mumbled awkwardly and apologetically.

"You think?" Bow Kid hissed.

"Yeah, sorry miss, we'll try to be more careful in the future," The seal apologized. "We'll give you both discounts if anything bad like this happens again."

Bow Kid nodded with contentment, and they went into the kitchen, and Hat Kid nearly dropped the plate in shock at the kitchen.

Grease spilled everywhere, ovens malfunctioning and turning into flamethrowers, dirty dishes all over the place, it was almost as bad as the Mafia's kitchen! At least this one seemed to follow sanitary guidelines, and cooked actual food.

Hat Kid threw the plate in the sink, and upon examination, found a shard. There was a distressed seal sitting beside a malfuctioning oven.

"Ouchie! Fire's _really hot!_" The seal shouted, and Hat Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh, I think there's some _**bad**_ safety violations on this cruise ship, I'm beginning to question whether or not we were ripped off by that price," Hat Kid told the seal, who became even more uncomfortable.

"Uhh, if you have concerns, bring them to the captain! I'm just a cook!" The seal stammered, and Hat Kid sighed, then both girls continued through the mess of a kitchen, grabbing a shard on top of a rack, then went down into the laundry room.

They saw some racks careening out of control throughout the room, rolling with the swaying of the boat, and ran up to a turned on washing machine.

Upon inspection, the machine had been turned on without detergent, so Hat Kid jumped up, grabbed some, and poured it into the machine. When the machine's cycle had finished, it spat out some towels, with a shard buried between them. Hat Kid grabbed the shard and they crawled single file through a vent into the power/engine room.

They could see a pool of glowing yellow liquid covering the massive engine, which was covered in electricity, and saw a shard hovering above a piston. Hat Kid carefully jumped onto a piston and used its motion to propel her up into the air so she could make the gap to the shard.

She grabbed it, then motioned for Bow Kid to join her, which she did, then the girls jumped onto another piston and walljumped up to the upper level of the power room. They saw the massive generator of the ship, which had a giant octopus sitting on it pulling and pushing simultaneously on two electrical switches, and it noticed them.

"Watch your step there, sparks! It'd be real **shocking **if you slipped!" The octopus warned, "I'm **positive **they could make it a little safer down here, but that'd really **amp **up the costs. Anyway, it's nice to see a guest down here. Most folks don't appreciate the hard work I put in to keep the mood **electric.**"

Hat Kid nodded, then the girls walked over to a door and went through it. They were back on the side of the ship, at the lowest level, and saw a wall small enough to walljump up repeatedly to the top. However, a cracked glass wall with some tape on it blocked their path, so Hat Kid blew it up with a potion.

They jumped up the wall to a higher level, ran over to an ice board, sprung off of that to a higher level, ran and jumped off of some metal plates to another higher level, and saw a seal lying on the ground beside some carts rolling back and forth across the area.

Hat Kid talked to the seal, who seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"I hurt myself," The seal said sadly, and Hat Kid's heart broke. "Will you take me to the Captain, please?" She then delicately picked up the seal, jumped over the carts, and entered the helm of the boat, and Bow Kid followed.

She put the seal down next to the Captain's chair, who noticed immediately.

"What do you want, pup? One of the crew hurt themselves _again?_" The captain asked annoyedly, "What do I look like, a _doctor? _Kiss it better yourself."

Just to try to do something to help, she blew a kiss to the seal, and it actually seemed to work.

"Thank you for kissing my ouchie, miss! I feel better already!" The seal said appreciatively, "I found this shiny glass, but it's all yours!" The seal then dropped a shard, which Hat Kid picked up. The girls then exited the helm and Hat Kid giggled.

"That's one for the record books," She mumbled, and Bow Kid began giggling as well. They then jumped down to a lower level and saw a shard in a vent, which Hat Kid promptly grabbed.

They then decided to return to their room for a minute, check if there was any shards there, and when they got to the large garden of the ship, they could see a shard on the balcony of a room, which they quickly reached and grabbed.

The only room left to search for a shard was the pool area, so they jumped. dove, and swung off of a clamp over to the door, and entered it. They saw the Conductor at the bar, ironically named On The Rocks, and walked over to him.

"Hey, get me a Sinking Ship, on the rocks, and make the good part a double," He asked the seal bartender, and Hat Kid facepalmed at the name of the drink. The Conductor heard the facepalm and turned to see the two girls standing there. "Oh, I didn't notice the two o' ye there, lassie. Out roamin' are we?" He asked contently, and Hat Kid nodded.

"You could say that," She answered.

"If yer after a drink, I think they might have some wee bottles o' juice," He informed her, and Hat Kid frowned. "Yer both capable ones, sure, but ye know that what I'm having is nae for young lasses."

He didn't seem to be drunk or anything, so they let him be, and talked to a troubled seal.

"H-hello! I need to get all these empty glasses, but I dropped them. Can you help me, miss?" The seal explained, and Hat Kid nodded. The seal pointed to the upper level of the deck, and they jumped up to said level and grabbed the empty glasses strewn about.

The girls jumped back down to the lower level, almost dropping some of the glasses, and put them on the bar, but Hat Kid felt an aura emanating from one of the glasses, and examined it.

"This isn't ice..." She mumbled, "It's the last shard we need!"

"Good, I'm getting tired of this," Bow Kid replied.

Hat Kid took the shard, and they went back to the reception. She picked up the broken remains of the Time Piece, and the shards literally flew out of her pocket and orbited around it, and seemed to get sucked into a vorte, until the vortex covered the entire artifact, and with a flash, it was back to normal.

Hat Kid put the Time Piece in her pocket, and they went back up to the pool deck and sat down in beach chairs. Exploring every single deck of the ship for the shards was exhausting.

However, it would be nowhere **near **as exhausting as the chaos they would soon witness.


	43. Chapter 42: Making It Work

Chapter 42: Making It Work

**A/N: Here we are, Chapter... (in Conductor voice) FOURTY TWO! Never thought this story would be so long. Also, Guest who commented on chapter 37, It's a **_**wrecking ball. **_**A **_**five ton iron wrecking ball**_**, colliding with a **_**little girl's arm**_** at medium-high speeds. Force = mass x acceleration, and there was lots of both. Hat Kid may be superhuman, but she isn't a little girl version of Superman.**

After their little broken Time Piece exploration, they decided to take it easy, Bow Kid went back to the room and watched television while Hat Kid went swimming. They spent basically the whole day doing what you would expect unsupervised little girls would do on a cruise ship, until the end of the day.

When they returned to their room, a blue Time Rift was awaiting them. They entered the rift and navigated to the end of it, and to their surprise, actually had some fun doing it, as the rift was based around diving onto a slope and careening down it at breakneck speed.

Regardless, they made it to the end after almost getting sliced by some buzzsaws, and closed the Rift. When they entered their room, they decided to go to bed, and Hat Kid sighed. They still had no clue where the other two Time Pieces were on the ship.

They climbed into their beds and went to sleep, and Hat Kid was greeted by the upmost strangest dream.

She was in a box behind the reception of the ship, and heard the receptionists talking and not noticing, or ignoring, her presence, trying to get out. She began panicking, but suddenly the entire environment was consumed with darkness, and she was floating in oblivion.

Out of nowhere, a light appeared in front of her, illuminating her, and she tried touching it, but her hand phazed through it. The light suddenly became brighter and began speaking in a strangely familiar voice.

"One needs to search for completion and meaning where they may least expect it," The Light said ethereally, and before Hat Kid could ask what it meant, the whole realm rumbled and became engulfed in a blinding light, and she woke up with a gasp.

It was sunrise, and Hat Kid immediately knew what to do. She urgently woke up Bow Kid with a grin, and she tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked sleepily.

"I know where to check for more Time Pieces!" Hat Kid shouted, beaming with joy.

"Okay?" Bow Kid replied, clearly confused, and they got up and exited their room. Bow Kid followed Hat Kid to the reception, and sure enough, behind the reception was a closed cardboard box labelled 'Found Lost Lots of Stuff!' with a Time Piece inside. Hat Kid walked up to the left receptionist, who noticed her and smiled.

"Hi, miss! How can I help you?" The seal greeted happily.

"I need something from the Lost and Found," Hat Kid explained.

"Oh? There's something you want from the Lost and Found?" The seal repeated, and Hat Kid nodded. "Hmm. The Captain lets us pick something from it if we work, very, _very _hard! Maybe you could help?"

Hat Kid smiled and nodded, but the seal frowned thoughtfully. "_Buuut,_ you'd have to ask him nicely. Just follow the mess to his room," The seal advised, and Hat Kid nodded, smiling. The two then proceeded to do just that, following empty cans and spilled boxes of noodles to the helm.

When they reached the Captain, he turned to them.

"Can we work for you to get something from the Lost and Found?" Hat Kid asked rapidly.

"What's that, pup? You want to help out?" The Captain asked, making sure his hearing was still decent, and Hat Kid nodded. "Hmph, sure, maybe something will get done around this **mess** of a boat for once. It'd be a first."

"We're both very fast and good at delivering things," Hat Kid suggested.

"Alright, you'll need to deliver drinks, some food, and a few other things." The Captain explained, and Hat Kid raised an eyebrow. They were going to do _all _of the delivery? "And, do it quickly, pup. Oh, and, there are some other jobs that'll need doing, so pay attention. Are you ready to start?"

Hat Kid huffed. It was the only way to get the Time Piece, and, hey, at least nobody's getting blown up, stabbed, poisoned, or burned this time around, so she grinned from ear to ear and shouted: "Heck yeah!"

The Captain seemed pleased. "Good, take these visors, they'll show you your tasks. You can start by getting rid of some of these boxes for me. It's starting to get messy in here," He ordered, as they were given delivery visors and Hat Kid picked up the box.

The visor showed her to take the box to the garbage in the kitchen, and they went there, and Hat Kid tossed the box in. Then, the visor showed the girls that some food needed to be put in the ovens, so they tossed them in before they could be burned by the faulty heating elements.

The next couple of tasks required a battery to be put in the generator and a toolbox to be given to the seals working on the bathroom. Next, they had to pluck some weeds and deliver one of Conductor's grandchildren to the ship daycare. Hat Kid groaned and Bow Kid sighed. They had barely begun, and they were already panting slightly at the arduous work.

After that, more tasks began appearing on their visors, take dirty towels down to be washed, deliver drinks to people on the pool deck, etcetera.

The Captain was impressed at how well the girls were doing. "Well, if they can work so well, why hold them back? Let's see how they do with a doubled workload," He mumbled with amusement.

The girls noticed the change in workload immediately, and began having to sprint from place to place and carry two or more things at once. The onslaught of work continued, and the Captain was beginning to be annoyed at the girls' lacking.

"Come on, pups, I know you can do better than _that. _**Get to it!**" He barked to them, but they could not hear. However, they could tell he was mad whenever they went into the helm. They continued working, running faster from more adrenaline now that they new the Captain was mad, completing every task they could, calming down the Captain, and he upped the workload a bit more.

This pattern continued for five more minutes until the girls could barely keep up with it, and the Captain was getting very angry.

"If you keep slacking off, I'll make you restart your shift again, with no pay!" He threatened to them, and they kept going until the Captain had seen enough. He sighed, and turned on the intercom.

"Attention, this is your Captain speaking..." He grumbled formally, "You can stop now, pups. Come back to Control, I guess."

They were at the pool deck, and they both sighed with relief, then heard a strange, accented chuckling. They turned and saw the Conductor at the bar, but he seemed different. Both girls walked up to him, and he noticed Hat Kid first, and hiccuped.

"Oho, hello, _lassie!_" He mumbled, and Hat Kid's heart dropped. He was drunk, again. "How... how's it goin', eh? Are you havin' a good holiday, lass?"

"I-I guess?" She replied uncertainly.

"Ah, I am! No Grooves, no movies, just me an' me good friend right here!" He mumbled relaxedly as he motioned toward his drink, "Ahh, this is the life, eh? I wonder what the rest of the boat is like..."

"Keep this up, and it will be not only your life, but your death, too!" She yelled angrily, "You **promised **to **never **let this happen again, and yet here you are, nothing but a drunken fool!"

"Lass, this is _my _life, I can do whutever I want with it. Yer not me boss! No one's me boss!" He shouted in his drunken haze, "So just get outta here and go see your Captain friend, at least he hasn't tried to kill ye."

"Are you _still _wound up over that?" Bow Kid asked annoyedly. "We both already told you, we forgive you! It's fine! No harm done!"

"Ay, that may be mentally, lass, but what I let happen can never be excused," He mumbled drunkenly.

"That may be if it was actually you. It wasn't. It _isn't. Your. Fault._" Bow Kid hissed, and the Conductor sighed.

"Ye know what? Fine, after this vacation I'll seek out some help, but leave me be for now, I'll be fine, I've done this all me life," He suggested relaxedly, and Bow Kid sighed.

"He's not going to budge, let's just go," Hat Kid told Bow Kid, who sighed again and nodded. The girls went back to the helm of the ship and talked to the Captain.

"Well, looks like you both actually cleaned up more mess than you made, pups," The Captain muttered, clearly impressed. "That's more than most of the crew can manage. Help yourselves to something from the Lost and Found. Nobody ever comes back for that stuff anyway."

Hat Kid saluted the Captain, who chuckled and turned around, then both girls returned to the reception, opened the Lost and Found, and took the Time Piece. Suddenly, the adrenaline that was in their system from their work disappeared, and they both collapsed to the floor.

Hat Kid tried getting up slowly, but fell back to the floor with a groan. To her surprise, she felt something, or someone, pick her up, and saw Bow Kid be picked up by a seal. She then looked down slowly and saw that a seal had picked her up as well, then she passed out.


	44. Chapter 43: Icebreaker

Chapter 43: Icebreaker

**A/N: Here we go, Rock The Boat! Then, all that's left are the Spaceship Time Rifts and then Finale time! So, the finale will be chapter 45, 46, or 47, then after that I'll add one or two epilogue chapters. This story is MUCH longer than I originally would've expected, but I guess the added detail made it longer. No matter, more content to enjoy.**

Both girls woke up at basically the same time, and were surprised to see themselves sleeping in their beds rather than on the floor. They got up and went up to the pool deck, and Hat Kid saw a bright glow on an iceberg far away.

"Wait a minute..." She mumbled, then dashed over to the side of the boat and peeked at the bright light, shielding her eyes, and sure enough, there was a Time Piece on it. She ran up to the Captain, who was sitting on the pool deck and also staring at the bright light.

"Do I not look busy, pup? Go play somewhere. Let an old captain relax. The seals can handle things for a minute," He muttered annoyedly, then turned back to looking at the bright light, and muttered something to himself: "Hopefully, they've learned not to mess with the steering wheel by now."

The girls then checked each room of the ship for something they could use to get to the iceberg until they reached the helm. Hat Kid walked up to the control of the helm and was in deep thought when she accidentally bumped into the wheel, turning it, causing the ship to swerve left.

In a panic, and knowing how good she was at piloting her spacecraft, she hopped in the seat and tried correcting the course, but in her panic, she didn't really know what she was doing and made it worse.

"Hello? The Captain has a messa-" A seal said calmly, but was interrupted.

"Hand me that microphone! **Who's at the wheel?!**" He barked, "_We're heading straight for an iceberg! __**ALL HANDS ON DECK!**_" Before Hat Kid could stop what she was doing, a deep rumble pierced the ship and everything faded to black.

When Hat Kid woke up, she was pinned underneath some debris and she was partially submerged in some icy water. She tried moving the debris with all her might but couldn't do it. The icy water was beginning to get to her and as a desperate effort she screamed out.

"_Help! Someone! Please!_" She screamed, but no one came. Suddenly, a horrible thought came to her head. Where was Bow?

She heard Bow Kid's panicked voice and another, deeper voice she couldn't make out come from somewhere, and was relieved to see Snatcher appear with Bow Kid on his shoulder.

"**Kid! What the **_**HELL **_**happened?!**" He shouted, then moved the debris and picked up the freezing child.

"N-no t-time to exp-p-plain," She chattered, then Bow Kid hugged her to try to warm her up. Suddenly, they all disappeared into darkness, then reappeared on a waiting life raft with a very concerned Express Owl waiting on it with an oar.

Both girls were confused why they were on a raft, and saw Snatcher there as well, not a trace of a grin on his face.

"**That was close! You're lucky, kiddo,**" He stated.

"Why are we on a life raft?" Hat Kid asked.

"**You both would've died if I hadn't showed up,**" He said seriously.

"So you _do _care?" Hat Kid asked, and the shadow cringed.

"**No, I just don't want my archnemesi to die by anything other than my own attacks!**" He yelled.

Suddenly, the Express Owl turned to see the three and had some hope.

"Did you see The Conductor get out?" He asked hopefully.

"We didn't see anyone get out!" Bow Kid shouted.

"**Well, seeya kiddoes, I'm out! No reason to stay near a sinking ship!**" Snatcher said happily, but was stopped by Hat Kid.

"Wait!" She shouted, "We're not going to wait here!"

"**Just so you can go back in there and die again? I'm not helping you again,**" He hissed,

"You don't understand! We have to make sure _everyone _gets out!" Hat Kid yelled.

"**Why the hell does it matter so much to you? You almost died! Do not take that lightly!**" Snatcher barked.

"Because _**THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!**_" Hat Kid screamed, "We were in the helm and I bumped into the steering wheel on accident, which made it turn, then I tried fixing it, but I just made it crash into an iceberg! If (any more) people died because of me, I would never, _**EVER**_, forgive myself!"

She turned away from the shadow and crossed her arms. "I don't expect you to understand that because you're a selfish, stone cold, shadow demon who only cares about himself," She muttered sadly.

Snatcher didn't know what to reply, then sighed. "**I think I understand just fine, kiddo. You know what? Fine, go back in there, be the hero, save the day. Just don't expect my help if you get yourself pinned again,**" He grumbled, then disappeared into the ground.

Suddenly, the somehow still working intercom came on.

"It's all going down, pups. I never thought I'd see the day. Her maiden voyage, too. Won't take more than a few minutes for all of this to hit the sea floor, I think," The Captain explained sadly, "Well, you might wanna get to a lifeboat, pups. It'd be smart."

Both girls bolted and went back inside the ship, then navigated to the helm of the ship, Hat Kid picking up a seal along the way, who thanked them gladly. They then went down into the dining room of the ship, where Hat Kid picked up one of Conductor's grandkids, then went down into the engine room, with Bow Kid picking up another seal along the way.

The girls then went into the casino, and Bow Kid picked up another of Conductor's granchildren. The girls then carefully navigated back to the liferaft and put everyone down, then jumped out, and the liferaft took off.

Then, another liferaft came along at another location, and the door to what was the very right side of the ship opened. They jumped up to what was now the top of the ship, and an icicle smacked right into the back of Hat KId's head, knocking her down with a shout.

She got up and they carefully made their way across the side of the ship, avoiding the icicles, with Hat Kid picking up a seal and Bow Kid picking up the Mafia Boss, then jumped back down and navigated into the daycare, where the Conductor was waiting on the ceiling. Hat Kid picked him up, and was relieved to see he was sober.

"Gah! Be careful, lass! Mind me feathers!" He shouted annoyedly, but Hat Kid ignored him. They then climbed to the top of a small iceberg, and Bow Kid picked up the fish 'dude'.

"Oh! You're both like, pretty strong, huh?" The fish commented..

"Adrenaline," was all Hat Kid said. They jumped down into the life raft and they tossed everyone inside, then the intercom came on again.

"Don't wait up for me, pups. Get in a boat and scram. This is _**MY DANG SHIP**_, and I'll go down with it," The Captain muttered, but the girls ignored it and jumped out of the raft, which confused the Conductor.

"Wait, lass, where ye goin'? You wanna save _him?_" He asked with confusement, and Hat Kid nodded. "I'm not going to hang around a sinking ship! If ye both don't make it back quick, we'll leave without ye!"

They bolted out and made their way to an ice platform, which took them back to where the first life raft was waiting. They made their way back inside the ship and made their way to the laundry room, where the Captain was waiting.

Out of adrenaline and desperation, Hat Kid tried picking him up, to no avail. Bow Kid even got in and they both used every bit of strength and more to try and pick him up, but it wasn't happening. Adult male walruses weigh two metric tons. There's no way that's happening.

"Where's the lasses? The ship is sinkin', we gotta get outta here!" Conductor mumbled to himself, then shouted at the very top of his lungs, so loudly, both girls could hear him. "_**COME ON! **_Get over here, lassies! We're leavin' _**NOW!**_"

Hat Kid fell to her knees and slammed her fist against the ground in despair. Suddenly, they felt a familiar dark presence behind them and were both picked up by Snatcher, who also picked up the Captain.

"Snatcher..." Hat Kid mumbled in pure surprise.

"**Don't say anything, kiddo,**" He said calmly, "**You can thank me later, now let's **_**get the peck out of here!**_"

He brought them back to the life raft, then appeared on the iceberg beside them

"**You can thank me now, I'm listening,**" Snatcher said annoyedly.

"Thank you, really," Hat Kid said, and he nodded annoyedly, then the Captain sighed.

"Pups, why wouldn't you let me go down with my ship? I can't drown, but I could at least pretend for a bit," He explained sadly, "Hmph, although without me, this crew'll never be able to get the lifeboats to shore. Fine. Crew, let's go home."

"Thank you, miss!" A seal thanked.

"Like, thanks, dudettes, I totally didn't see this coming!" The fish also thanked.

"Aye, thank ye, lasses. The little ones haven't learned to swim yet!" The Conductor thanked as well.

"Hopefully our insurance covers this... Anyway, I can't give out refunds, but it looks like there's something shiny on that iceberg over there, funny how our ship crashed right into it," The Captain explained and Hat Kid shrugged her shoulders, "It's all yours, pups."

Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear and Bow Kid blushed and scratched her head, also smiling. However, an arctic gale swept in and both girls began shivering uncontrollably. Hat Kid quickly rushed over to the other lifeboat and grabbed the Time Piece, then returned to Bow Kid, both still shivering.

Hat Kid felt too weak to return to the spaceship, so both her and Bow Kid lied down and closed their eyed, and before they drifted off to sleep, they felt a blanket cover them and the Captain say something.

"Rest well, pups, you deserve it."


	45. Chapter 44: Truth

Chapter 44: Truth

**A/N: I'd like to clarify something. You know those korean 'stories' going around, advertizing websites? I even got PM'd by a bot telling me to visit a sketchy website. I've seen this kind of thing in video games before, **_**DO NOT **_**go on those websites, they'll probably hack your account or computer and do all sorts of crap. I know this may be obvious but better safe than sorry.**

When Hat Kid woke up, she was in a bed with a hotel, and there was a seal there waiting for them to wake.

"Oh! Hello, miss!" The seal greeted happily.

"Where are we?" Hat Kid asked.

"In a hotel, we got back to shore and got some rooms for everyone," The seal explained, "We decided to give you both the biggest room, as you saved us!"

"Wow, uh, thanks," Hat Kid muttered uncomfortably, "T-that wasn't really necessary though." Bow Kid then awoke with a groan and was also confused to see their surroundings.

"Oh! I should probably tell everyone that you're both awake!" The seal muttered, then left the room, and they could hear the seal shouting that they were awake, then everyone entered the room.

"Did you guys seriously give us the largest room they had?" Hat Kid asked in disbelief.

"Of course, lass! If anyone deserved a large room like this, it's the two o' ye!" Conductor explained energetically.

"Exactly, pup. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you both," The Captain muttered, then turned away from the girls and grumbled: "I just can't wait to find who crashed the ship so I can sue them."

Hat Kid then went pale, and sighed. It would be wrong to lie to them, so she decided to tell the truth.

"Right behind you," She told the Captain, who turned around, eyes wide, and everyone gasped.

"What?!" He shouted, "No, that can't be right, pup. You're saying _you _crashed the boat?"

"W-we can explain," Hat Kid said nervously, "Do you remember that bright light you saw on that iceberg?" The Captain nodded. "Well, we were exploring the ship to find ways to get to it, and we were exploring the helm, but I wasn't paying attention and I bumped into the steering wheel," She explained, "I-I climbed in the chair and tried correcting the ship's course, but I was panicking and just made it worse, and I crashed it into the iceberg by accident."

Hat Kid braced to be yelled at, insulted, even attacked, but the response she got made her feel even more anxious.

Nothing.

No response.

Just silence.

"I-it was a complete and utter accident, I swear!" She shouted anxiously, and the Captain sighed. "I-it seems everywhere I go, I cause something terrible to happen. I should leave as soon as possible."

"Hmph. Well, if it was an accident..." He muttered, "I was half expecting the crew to do the same thing anyway. I contacted our insurance provider, they're going to reimburse us for the full price of the ship, so at least we have that."

"Ay, lass, don't be so hard on yerself. Ye both could've just said: 'Ah, peck it!' and just left us to die, but, no. Ye both risked yer lives to make sure everyone got out unharmed, even those who didn't want to leave!" Conductor reassured Hat Kid, "It doesn't matter what happened wherever you were in the past. All that matters is now, and right now, you're both heroes, and should be both be treated such!"

"She felt like it was her responsibility," Bow Kid explained, "She told me she didn't and doesn't want anyone to be hurt by her actions, and that she'd never would've forgiven herself if she didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I wasn't being a hero, I was just heeding my call of duty," Hat Kid said.

"That sounds like a hero to me, miss!" A seal replied.

One of Conductor's granchildren chirped in agreement, and the Captain nodded.

"Mafia doesn't care how strong you are, or what powers you do or don't have. Mafia say, the makings of a hero is bravery, and little hat girl and bow girl are both bravest people on planet!" A Mafia Goon shouted.

"It pains me to say this, but, I owe you my jar life," The Mafia Boss stated hesitantly.

Hat Kid giggled. "Didn't I kill you? I think we're both even now," She stated.

After some more declarations of appreciation by other people and being called heroes more, a group of people grabbed both girls by each limb carefully and began tossing them in the air gently, basically doing birthday bumps for them from celebration, both girls began laughing.

For the third time, they were being celebrated as heroes. Nothing could feel better than that, especially for Hat Kid, who had been searching for such gratitude and praise all her life. After that, the girls walked outside, waved goodbye, and returned to their ship.

When they returned to the ship, Hat Kid put the five Time Pieces they had collected into the vault. 42/46 Time Pieces collected. She began jumping up and down in place, giddy as a schoolgirl.

Suddenly, a familiar alarm blared throughout the ship.

**WARNING. TIME RIFTS DETECTED.**

Hat Kid rolled her eyes, and she ran up to the large monitor. She tapped it, and was surprised to see that the two blue rifts were in the spaceship, and she knew exactly where. She turned to Bow Kid and smiled awkwardly.

"I don't think I've showed you these rooms before," She told Bow Kid, who tilted her head.

"Those rifts are here?" She asked her captain uncertainly, who nodded slowly. Hat Kid jumped down to the lower level of the main hub and motioned for Bow Kid to follow, who followed her into the Machine Room, and turned left to see a door blocked off by barrels covered in golden tape.

Hat Kid put on her Brewing Hat and decimated the barrels, then went through the door, which was blocked by two large crates covered in the same tape, which she blew up. They entered the room, which was an art gallery with paintings covering the walls, drawn by Hat Kid herself.

Bow Kid's jaw dropped.

"These are your paintings?!" She asked her captain, who blushed and nodded. "No way. I can't believe it. These paintings are _amazing!_"

"Long before I met you, I stopped at a planet and drew these paintings mostly based off of the paintings I saw there," She explained, then shook her head. "Either way, talking can wait."

Bow Kid nodded and they entered the Rift.


	46. Chapter 45: Her Spaceship

Chapter 45: Her Spaceship

**A/N: Clearing up the spaceship rifts and Hat Kid explains another part of her story. Enjoy. I'm also going to alter the Tour Time Rift a bit so it doesn't contradict what I do with the story.**

When they opened their eyes, they immediately hopped onto another platform, then walljumped between two walls to get up to a spinning '+'. From there, they jumped onto another spinning '+', and saw a large wall blocking their path. They decided to jump counter-rotation to the spin of the platform and saw that they could jump up on top of the wall that way, which they did.

From there, they bounced off of balloons over to another platform, bounced off of more balloons to a platform with a lamp post on it, then saw two platforms moving right to left and vice versa, and a large taped box blocking on top of another, stationary platform.

Hat Kid blew the box sky high and they continued, jumping on the platform, then jumping over to a lamp post. The girls then jumped onto another platform, blew up another box, jumped onto the platform the box was on, blew up yet another box, jumped on the platform that box was on, then jumped over to a vertically 'L' shaped platform.

They climbed up the wall and jumped onto a spinning bar, then jumped onto another spinning bar above them. They then waited for the bar to spin in the right position, then jumped over to the lamp post, and bounced off of some spiders over to the next platform.

They jumped off of two walls up to another platform, then jumped on to another platform with two walls.

They climbed and jumped off the two walls to reach a thin platform floating above them, then Hat Kid grabbed the Time Piece and sealed the Rift.

Hat Kid put the Time Piece in the vault, then smiled. After this next rift, there will be only two Time Pieces left to claim. Then, Bow Kid thought of something.

"So, on your planet, are all spaceships the same?" She asked her captain, who grinned sadly.

"You're making me homesick," She told her first officer, who frowned.

"Oh, sorry, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," She apologized.

"No, no, it's fine," She reassured Bow Kid, then began. "My people treat, build, and sell spaceships basically like any other vehicle, like boats, planes, helicopters, or cars. This spaceship is a Spaceship Mk. 14 Custom, custom built by my own teacher and guardian to celebrate my promotion to Timekeeper and my tenth birthday. Spaceships were typically fueled by a liquid fuel charged with the Time Pieces' power, but because it's a rather inefficient use for their power, Timekeepers are allowed to use the Time Pieces themselves as fuel, and thus, Timekeepers do most of the work that requires interstellar travel."

"So, did you always travel alone? A 'lone wolf' or whatever?" Bow Kid inquired, and Hat Kid smiled.

"No, I travelled with other people. This spaceship is meant to be run by a 5 or 6 person crew, and I had my own crew, in which I was the captain," She explained.

"So, why do you travel alone now? Other than with me, of course," Bow Kid asked, and Hat Kid looked down and sighed.

"My entire crew is dead."

Bow Kid's eyes widened, and she hugged her mourning captain. "When... _**HE **_stole my Time Pieces, I tried staying and fighting, but to 'thank' me for the Time Pieces, he hunted down each of my crewmates and killed them, right in front of me. I tried stopping him, getting in his way, even tried to sacrifice myself to save them, but nothing worked. He just countered my attacks and knocked me down," She said drearily, then clenched her fists and began shaking uncontrollably with rage. "After he did so, he didn't even let me mourn before he began taunting me, telling me I was useless, a burden to everyone I knew, and only bring misfortune to everyone I meet."

"I will _**NEVER **_forgive him for what happened, _**EVER.**_ That's why I want to return to my planet so much. I just want to look him in the eye as I take everything away from him, **just as he did to me.** An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. If I have to kill him to do it, I will do so without hesitation," Hat Kid hissed, "If he surrenders, I'll arrest him. If he doesn't, I'll kill him where he stands."

Bow Kid's eyes widened even more. The only time where she'd seen her captain with such hatred, such anger, such... bloodthirst, is when she had took the knife for her. She then took a deep breath. "Well, you don't have to worry anymore. You're never going to lose this one-girl crew," She told her captain, who smiled and hugged her back, "I'm never going to leave you, ever. Even if it means I have to go to peck and back."

"Just out of curiosity, this pathetic excuse of a person you're talking about, what's his name?" Bow Kid asked her captain, who looked up slowly and stared ahead of her, an inferno in her eyes.

"Adamus Severus Fortunio," She said slowly, voice so full of hatred and disgust it almost made Bow Kid feel in danger.

"I was expecting a jerk like that to have such a dumb name," Bow Kid said, and Hat Kid giggled.

"I know, right?" She said happily, and Bow Kid smiled. Great minds think alike.

"We should probably get this other rift dealt with," She suggested to her captain, who nodded.

"I'd completely forgotten about that, follow me," She explained, then Bow Kid followed her down into the Engine Room, but instead of swinging over to the telescope, they turned left and went over to a door, but the hallway was blocked by a purple wall.

"Was this always here?" Bow Kid asked her captain.

"Uh, no. Whatever, we have our masks," She grumbled, then put on her mask, and they went down into the Laboratory.

The rift was there, floating in the center of the room, and Bow Kid tilted her head.

"Why do you need a science lab?" She asked her captain.

"For research purposes! If we find-found new minerals, plants, or whatever, that way we could've tested them and made new chemicals, potions, whatever! You never know when exploring the vast infinity that is space!" She explained gleefully.

"Fair enough, let's do this rift," Bow Kid responded, and they entered the rift.

This rift didn't have difficult platforming to do, but what made it troublesome was the fact that it was covered in pompous crows that would bump into them and shove them back. They were able to advance carefully and whack, stomp, or homing attack each crow to be able to advance without being rudely interrupted, and Hat Kid snatched the Time Piece.

They were back in the ship, and Hat Kid put the Time Piece back in the vault. However, the Time Rift alarm blared out again.

She turned around and saw a purple rift right in front of her. They entered the rift immediately.


	47. Chapter 46: Intruder

Chapter 46: Intruder

**A/N: The changes I made to this rift, as you can see by me changing when and where it appears, are rather major, so be ready for that.**

When they landed, they were in the bedroom of the spaceship, and the Rift Gate was in front of them. Hat Kid gulped. She sincerely hoped this rift wasn't of her memories, she wasn't ready for that big of a trip down memory lane yet.

Regardless, they jumped into the Rift Gate, and landed in a not-very-accurate recreation of Mafia Town, which made Hat Kid sigh with relief.

They explored every nook and cranny of this small Mafia Town, there were even lava faucets spewing lava everywhere, and collected the two Storybook Pages and four Rift Pons strewn about the place. The girls then hopped through the Rift Gate, which left them with one pon, and landed in a recreation of Dead Bird Studio.

They guessed that the Time Piece must've hit Hat Kid or Bow Kid in the head and must've been filled with their thoughts and memories of the planet. This area was more troublesome to explore as it wasn't as open and they had to evade C.A.W. agents who were either patrolling the place or sitting and laughing.

Either way, they collected the four Rift Pons and two Storybook Pages and hopped through the Rift Gate, which left them with two pons.

Next, they landed in a recreation of Subcon Forest, which although was no bigger than the Mafia Town or DBS area, seemed much smaller because of the fact that Subcon Forest is absolutely massive.

They explored the tiny forest and collected a Storybook Page and three more Rift Pons, then jumped down into a well, grabbing another Rift Pon along the way, and landed in a small recreation of the Well with some glowing blue crystals growing in the cave.

Hat Kid saw another Rift Pon in a pipe and swung off of some lanterns up to it, then grabbed it, and then jumped down to Bow Kid. The girls then walked through a pipe and saw some stone towers and what looked to be Snatcher's tree.

A vine was growing on the tree and they climbed it to the top of the cave, and grabbed another Storybook Page, then they jumped down and went inside the tree, but Snatcher's chair was replaced with the Rift Gate, which they opened and went through.

They landed in a small recreation of Alpine Skyline's four peaks, and Hat Kid was not pleased to see some of the toxic flowers in bloom in this place, and pulled out a facemask just in case.

The girls split up again and explored each of the tiny peaks, collecting another two Storybook Pages and six Rift Pons, then met up at the Twilight Bell/Zone recreation and jumped up to the Rift Gate, which took five Rift Pons.

They landed on the Moon, and saw UFOs floating up in the air and a moshpit of Moon Penguins beneath them, and realized they were standing on a set of very tall buildings, and split up, and collected the final Storybook Page and another six Rift Pons, then met up at the Rift Gate, which was on a UFO floating near a building.

When they landed, they were back in the main hub of the ship, and the Rift Heart was floating there. Hat Kid grinned madly and whacked it, then Bow Kid whacked it, and then Hat Kid homing attacked it and stomped it, then grabbed the released Time Piece, and sealed the final Time Rift.

_About two minutes earlier, back in the spaceship..._

**ALERT! INTRUDER DETECTED!**

A red-hooded, mustached nuisance climbed inside the spaceship.

"Alright, I'm in! I made it! I infiltrated those kids' spaceship without the alarms going off! I bet they've collected a ton more Time Pieces than I have, now where do they keep them?"

She looked around and set her eyes on the giant vault, and ran up to it, then smiled mischeviously.

"Jackpot! This must be where they store them all!" She shouted contently.

She opened the vault and did a victory pose, then smiled evilly.

"Time to mess with Time a little!"

She smashed every single Time Piece and harnessed their power into the planet, causing it to transform.

When the girls came back to the spaceship, they heard the troubling sound of a Time Piece breaking, and bolted into the main hub, and saw their vault wide open, and Moustache Girl there, holding all of the Time Pieces.

"_**What the peck are you doing?!**_" Hat Kid screamed at the top of her lungs, and Moustache Girl turned to face the two angered girls, surprised to see them. She bolted to the hatch and jumped out, and the ship powered down again. Hat Kid put the Time Piece she had collected back into the vault, restoring some power to the ship.

They walked over to the hatch and looked down at the planet below, and were utterly horrified to see a lava-ridden mess with a gargantuan castle on it, with MG's signature moustache on it.

"You know, before this, I was willing to forgive her. I was thinking, 'Oh, she has a dark past, she's misguided and likely has PTSD, I can forgive her if she apologizes'. But this? This is too far. We are going to go down there and confront her, and unless she gives us every single Time Piece back and surrenders, we will knock her into next week," She hissed, and Bow Kid nodded.

"I always knew that red-hooded, orange haired, mustached freak would be nothing but trouble," Bow Kid mumbled to herself, then remembered something. "Wait, lets look at the storybook first."

"Why? This is far more important," Hat KId responded.

"Maybe the Storybook will give us some useful information about her," Bow Kid reasoned, and Hat Kid nodded slowly.

They put together the pages, and looked at the title of the book, which was a good sign. It showed an orange mustache and was titled 'The Hero (Obviously)', and showed a shadow of a star medallion.

Hat Kid turned to the first page, which showed a younger Moustache Girl without her hood laughing, and an old man in the background smiling, probably her father. The next page showed her noticing a boat with Mafia men on it arriving at the island. The following page showed Moustache Girl giving the men a warm welcome, but the page after that showed the Mafia shoving her aside, drawing graffiti, and harassing her (probable) father. The next page showed Mafia Town as it is today, a trashed mess.

The following page showed Moustache Girl in distress trying to attack a Mafia Goon, but the Goon just laughed it off. The page after that showed Moustache Girl trying to negotiate with the Mafia Boss, but he and his goons were laughing uncontrollably at her efforts to try to seem threatening.

The penultimate page showed Moustache Girl stealing a TNT barrel from two angry Mafia Goons, and the very last page showed a sad Moustache Girl with her hood up, sitting in her dismal little cave next to a fire, and the 'Mafia Sabotage' inscription only at a six.

Hat Kid closed the book. Nothing really helpful, but her story was even worse than they thought it would be.

They didn't have time to dwell on the contents of the book, so they bolted to the hatch and jumped out.

Sad story or not, they were going to _make her pay_ for what she did.


	48. Chapter 47: Judge, Jury, Executioner

Chapter 47: Judge, Jury, Executioner

**A/N: Here we go! Time's End! I think ya'll will enjoy the little twist I add!**

They landed on a long pathway, and were immediately blasted with intense heat. Hat Kid smiled at Bow Kid.

"I told you this lab was useful for something," She said, then tossed her a blue potion, and pulled one out for herself. They drank the potions, and it was as if the heat vanished. "This potion only grants heat resistance, don't go jumping into fire or lava," She explained, and they ran forward.

There was a golden statue of Moustache Girl holding a scale and resting her hand on a ticket dispenser with the words 'Take One' written on it, and they decided to take several. Just then, they saw the large line of people going up to the castle, and they saw Cooking Cat in front of them, and talked to her.

"I've been in hot kitchens before, but this is something else! I don't know how you're both not breaking a sweat, but I'm really cooking," She said tiredly, "Maybe you can skip the line and find out who's head chef here, kids?"

The girls then walked up to a larger, circular waiting area which looked like a clock with Moustache Girl's moustache on it, and talked to the Mafia Boss.

"It's so hot out here, my liquid is almost boiling!" He complained, then the girls walked up to Snatcher, who was also waiting there.

"**Hey, kids. How are those souls of yours? Still rattling around in there?**" He asked miserably, "**I'd love to know who thinks they're a big enough deal to judge **_**ME!**_** So I've taken a few (hundred) souls, **_**BIG DEAL!**_** Do us all a favour, kids. Go check out who thinks they're better than us and hit them! I don't usually advocate that kind of thing, but, this is pretty authoritarian!**"

"What about when you wanted us to murder the Fire Spirits?" Hat Kid asked.

"**Territory thing, business, war, things you wouldn't really understand. Also, that was a one time thing! Besides, you were my slaves, I could've made you do anything!**" He answered.

They moved on and went up some stairs, and saw DJ Grooves waiting there, and although he was a typically calm bird, he seemed **mad.** He noticed the girls immediately.

"Good to see you, darlings!" He greeted, adding happiness to his voice to drown out his anger, "Nice to know I'm not the only superstar waiting around this **tawdry **place. Slide on up past those doors and find out who's calling the shots, won't you?"

Hat Kid nodded, and they prepared to go inside, but saw the Conductor on the other side and walked up to him. He could be pretty short-fused but he seemed to be barely constraining his anger.

"Yer here too, lass?" He asked Hat Kid, "What is this place? I've never broken a law in me life!"

Hat Kid gave him a disappointed stare, knowing full well how wrong he was, but now was not the time to argue about law.

"Ohh, whoever they are, I'm _nae_ gonna be judged by some mustached, _hatless, hood-wearin, STATUE-POSIN', CASTLE DWELLIN', TICKET GIVIN' __**PECK NECK!**_" He shouted at the top of his lungs, so loudly both girls took steps back in surprise.

They stepped away slowly and opened the large double doors to the castle. They ran across the red carpet and entered the castle.

A very large and long corridor with lava covering the floor awaited them, and they avoided some flaming crows and swung off of a hookshot clamp onto a platform, then jumped onto a series of sinking pillars, and jumped onto a spring board, which bounced them up to a higher platform.

On this platform, there was a fire spinner with a fire spirit dancing on it, and they quickly jumped over it, then used their ice hats to bounce over to another platform, with a panicked Express Owl on it.

The owl noticed them and threw a clipboard at them, which they dodged easily.

"Give me your back of the line ticket!" The owl ordered, and Hat Kid whacked him, knocking him out, and sighed. Even the owls were becoming desperate enough to become hostile. Moustache Girl really needed to be stopped as soon as possible before anything worse could happen.

They jumped over to another platform, knocked out two more hostile owls, then wallclimbed up to a higher platform with some egg cannons on them. They used the egg projectiles to bounce themselves over to another platform. Between that platform and the next platform was a large gap with two moving, sinking pillars on them.

They carefully jumped onto the first pillar, waited, then jumped on the next one, then jumped onto the platform. In front of them, they saw a series of wooden platforms with a gigantic egg cannon shooting gigantic eggs down the platform.

They jumped onto the platform, jumped out of the way, continued, then swung off of two hookshot clamps to the next platform, then jumped down to another platform, then jumped down to the entrance to the next corridor.

At the beginning of the second corridor were some fire spinners and flaming crows, but dodged them and jumped onto a metal plate hanging from the ceiling. From there, they jumped onto a platform with a fire spinner on it and swung off of another hook toward the next platform.

The girls climbed a wall up to the next platform then jumped down to a long, thin wooden platform with two egg cannons shooting in a pattern, so they advanced carefully, jumping over an egg then ducking under the next, over and over until they made it to the next platform, then used their masks to jump on some dweller platforms up to the next platform.

On that platform, they dodged two flaming crows, and jumped onto a platform with a fire spinner and two more flaming crows on it, jumped down onto a similar platform, jumped onto a metal plate, then jumped down to yet another platform.

They used their masks again to jump onto a green platform, then jumped onto another plate. From there, both girls jumped onto another plate with a quadruple fire spinner next to it, jumped over to another similar plate, then swung off of two hooks to an unstable platform.

Simultaneously, they hopped off of unstable platform to unstable platform until they saw a green slope ahead of them, and used their masks to make it real so they could slide down onto the next platform.

When they got onto the next platform, they were attacked by LPG members, but they knocked them out and got their hats back, then Hat Kid used her mask to make a wall blocking their path disappear. They continued into the final corridor.

In the entrance to the last corridor, there was a large platform with owls on it, and a skeleton looking at them. They knocked out the hostile owls and the skeleton disappeared, making some bars disappear. Ahead was a series of pillars, the last two pillars with automated hammers striking down on them.

They advanced carefully and timed their jumps so they weren't hit by the hammers, and jumped up to another platform. On that platform they were attacked by yet another cat, who they defeated quickly, then they jumped onto a springboard, which bounced them up to a rectangular platform with a wall on it and a goat walking back and forth.

They climbed up the wall and jumped onto a metal plate, then jumped onto another plate with a fire spinner between that and the next plate, then jumped over said spinner, then jumped down onto yet another plate, then bounced off of balloons and swung off of a hook to another metal plate with hammers striking down on it in a wave pattern.

They slowly advanced across the plate, adapting to the pattern, and jumped onto the next platform without getting crushed by one of the hammers. On the platform were two quadruple fire spinners spinning simultaneously and a troubled Express Owl.

"I can't get through there! I'm no stunt owl!" The owl shouted desperately, then the girls jumped over the fire and jumped onto a plate. After that, they swung off of a hook onto a pillar, jumped onto another plate with a quadruple fire spinner, jumped down to a similar plate, jumped down onto a pillar, dove over to another pillar, then dove over to the last area.

Hat Kid had butterflies in her stomach. She just hoped Moustache Girl wasn't abusing the Time Pieces any more than just using them to alter the planet, as if she used them to give herself power, she'd basically have become a goddess and basically unstoppable.

The platform was divided into two pathways that were being battered by hammers, which they dodged easily, then they jumped over to the red carpeted corridor to Moustache Girl. They walked slowly through the hallway, looking at her paintings of herself, and Hat Kid sighed. No matter what happens, this will not be pleasant in the slightest.

They opened the giant double doors, and saw a Mafia Goon on his knees over a trapdoor and Moustache Girl sitting in a throne on top of a pile of Time Pieces.

"I didn't punch old man for, like, 2 days straight that one time!" The Mafia Goon begged, but Moustache Girl was unfazed.

"Oh, wow! What a _touching story!_" She said sarcastically, "Just kidding! Bad guy! Next!" The trapdoor opened and the Mafia Goon fell to his doom with a cry.

When Moustache Girl didn't see someone on the trapdoor, she became annoyed. "I said: **NEXT!**"

Seeing the sheer narcissism Moustache Girl had adopted enraged Hat Kid. She literally thought everyone else on the planet was inferior.

They stepped forward onto the trapdoor.

"Oh, it's _you._" Moustache Girl said condescendingly, "You've been kind of selfish little pests, but, eh, you haven't actually stood in my way, you get to go on, you're good guys, I guess."

The door opened behind them. "Go on! You get to live! NEXT!" Moustache Girl shouted, but they didn't budge.

"Don't think we don't know what you did," Hat Kid said judgingly, "We know you stole our Time Pieces. You talk about crime, yet you think stealing is okay because _you _did it?"

"Watch your voice or I'll revoke my decision," Moustache Girl threatened, "You aren't in a position to talk back to me,"

"Regardless, you don't understand. We don't want to stay here, we just want to go home, and we need those Time Pieces to do so! They're our fuel! So, give them back to us and we'll be fine. Please." Hat Kid begged, "We know your story, we understand your hatred for the Mafia. What they did was and is wrong, but you shouldn't stoop down to their level."

"Don't you dare compare me to the Mafia. I'm considering executing you now," Moustache Girl hissed, "These Time Pieces are mine now. At least I'm actually using their full potential."

"That doesn't make sense. It's better for the Time Pieces to not be used at all than to be misused," Hat Kid argued. "Please, just give us what belongs to us. We weren't even meant to be here."

"No means no," Moustache Girl said stubbornly, and Hat Kid turned around.

"Very well. Come on, Bow," She said suspiciously, and they began slowly walking to the door, until Hat Kid suddenly turned around and bolted toward Moustache Girl with her umbrella out, running up the pile of Time Pieces to attack her, when she backhanded her away.

"_Excuse me?!_ Don't you dare get anywhere near me! I don't think you quite understand who's in charge, little missy," She barked condescendingly.

"Come down here and I'll show you who's little!" Hat Kid taunted, and Moustache Girl clenched her fists.

"You know, I was willing to forgive you. I once thought we were going to be _best buds!_" She shouted.

"Yeah, no. You're far too insane, selfish, and rude for me to want to associate with you," Hat Kid muttered.

"But nope! You turned out to be rotten and selfish! Save the planet from bad guys? Pfft, who needs that am I right?" Moustache Girl stated.

"You are right. This planet doesn't need saving. It doesn't _need_ a hero! I talked to literally everyone back at the queue, _**everybody hates you!**_ Can't you see that?!" Hat Kid hissed.

"But look at all I've done without you. _**I'VE**_ restored justice. _**I AM**_ the justice! No more bad guys, _**ever!**_" Moustache Girl shouted.

"You can't have good without bad. You can't see that. Your extreme tendencies, combined with your narcissism and your ignorant, black and white view of the world is terrible. You are the bad guy!" Hat Kid yelled, "Your castle is literally a death trap full of lava! I've played video games! In most of them, a lava filled death trap castle is literally the bad guy's lair!"

"I don't care! This is not a video game! I don't need you, this planet doesn't need you! No one will miss you, and no one will care!" Moustache Girl barked.

"It doesn't matter whether people will miss us when we leave or care, but this planet is a mess _because of __**YOU!**_ It does need us!" Hat Kid shouted, and Moustache Girl jumped off of her throne and landed in front of them.

"_**YOU **_are the bad guy, and _**I'LL **_show you how this justice system deals with bad guys!" Moustache Girl shouted, then teleported around while looking at Hat Kid. She frowned. She was abusing the Time Pieces' power. She had a feeling what she was going to do, and when she teleported right in front of her, she was met with an umbrella whack.

She teleported into the air and threw some Time Pieces at the girls, who dodged, then floated down, and Bow Kid whacked her. She then flew back into the air and did a Superman pose while beginning to spin around rapidly, then she charged at Bow Kid, who jumped into the air and homing attacked her.

She then disappeared into the ground, but they could see her aura of power and dodged accordingly, and then Hat Kid whacked her.

She teleported around again, this time locked onto Bow Kid, who wasn't paying attention enough and recieved a fist to the face, knocking her down. Hat Kid whacked her with her umbrella again, but she was prepared and took a defensive stance.

Both girls were knocked back in different directions and were going to continue fighting when a yell pierced the room.

"_**SHE CAN GET LOST!**_" A familiar masculine, accented voice yelled, and the girls turned to see a Mafia Goon standing with them. "Moustached girl not welcome here, Mafia say, _**GET LOST!**_"

The Conductor walked into the room and stopped next to the goon, then shook his fist at Moustache Girl. "That's right, **get lost! **No one wants ye here! Ain't that right, big lad?" He yelled, and a Goat walked into the room and stopped behind them, then nodded his head in agreement.

A band of Moon Penguins entered the room with DJ Grooves and began snapping their fingers. "Get lost! Ain't that right, gang?" The lead Moon Penguin yelled, and the rest of the Moon Penguins began yelling as well.

"Get lost!"

"Go away!"

"You suck!"

Then, Cooking Cat jumped onto the Goat's head, who let it happened, and slashed the air in Moustache Girl's direction. "Yeah, get lost!"

DJ Grooves stepped forward. "Darling, this place is nothing but a flashy mess of your making! Get lost!" He yelled as well, then Snatcher appeared behind the Goat.

"**This alternate reality stinks! **_**GET LOST!**_" He yelled, then everyone in the room began screaming "GET LOST!" in Moustache Girl's direction, who seemed betrayed and hurt. The girls were surprised to see everyone defending them, especially the Mafia and Snatcher.

"W-wha? But I'm... fixing everything! No more bad guys! Why can't you see I'm doing this for all of us?!" She shouted sadly.

"They don't need a hero. Everything was just fine before this. Mafia Town was rough but it wasn't crumbling, Dead Bird Studio was just as normal, Subcon Forest was, well, Subcon Forest but doing just fine, and Alpine Skyline was doing great. We don't need you. Nobody here needs you!" Hat Kid hissed, and everyone cheered in agreement. Moustache Girl turned to Hat Kid and Bow Kid.

"How can you stand behind these people? They're crooks! Criminals! And y-you're helping _THEM?_" She yelled, and Hat Kid nodded.

"You can't judge someone because of one action. There are good Mafia out there, believe it or not. Conductor may have tried to kill us but that wasn't his doing. DJ Grooves is just fine. Snatcher is, uh, a special case, and all of the residents of Alpine Skyline are innocent people who mind their own business. You can't just judge everyone like this, you can't judge a book by it's cover," Hat Kid explained, but Moustache Girl wouldn't listen.

"**This ends now!**" She hissed, then threw a Time Piece down, which swallowed everything in darkness. Time Pieces began raining from the sky, and the girls had to dodge them, until, instantly, the area changed to an epileptic circular arena with everyone watching outside the arena, and the arena only contained three people.

Hat Kid, Bow Kid, and Moustache Girl, who had a visible dark aura of power. She began teleporting rapidly around the arena until she teleported in front of Hat Kid, who whacked her.

Moustache Girl flew up into the air and began throwing Time Pieces down, but instead of shattering on impact, they stayed on the ground and began emitting lines of darkness, and they dodged out of the way before they broke, releasing dark walls of energy.

She floated down and Bow Kid hit her. She then teleported to the back of the arena and harnessed her power in her hands, then shot a giant death ray at Bow Kid, who jumped out of the way, and Hat Kid snuck behind her and hit her.

Moustache Girl continued this pattern of attacks for around a minute, until she realized something. If they were going to dodge her attacks, why can't she dodge theirs? She shot a laser at Hat Kid, who jumped and dove toward her, but she teleported away. She tried getting near her again, but she kept teleporting away.

A Mafia Goon noticed this and turned to the Conductor.

"Little Hat Kid can't even hit evil moustached girl! We have to help!" He shouted anxiously, and the Conductor nodded.

"Ye got it, lad! Let's give 'em something they can jab at that lil' red nuisance so she'll get lost!" He yelled, and the Mafia Goon nodded and turned to his comrades.

"Boys! Mafia Ball!" He yelled to them, and they nodded and all jumped into the air on the same spot, forming the Mafia Ball, which Conductor jumped on top of, and it landed in the center of the arena.

"Let's roll!" Conductor shouted, then laughed. "Lil' girls! Give us a shove right into that red lass's **ugly mug!**"

Hat Kid nodded and kicked it toward Moustache Girl with all her might, so hard Conductor could barely keep on top of it as it careened into Moustache Girl. She gasped with surprise and teleported into the air, and threw more Time Pieces down.

The ball landed back in the center of the arena and Bow Kid kicked it toward Moustache Girl, and it hit her and bounced back up into the air. Moustache Girl tried using her death ray and Time Pieces to attack them, but they dodged and kicked the Mafia Ball toward her every time.

She saw it coming the last time and punched the Conductor just as the Ball hit her, causing it to disperse, so Conductor and the Mafia retreated back into the viewing area. Moustache Girl took the Time Pieces and made them orbit her in a spherical pattern, and weaved their power into a shield.

She teleported toward Hat Kid and she tried whacking her with her umbrella, but her umbrella bounced off the shield with a depressing _CLANG, _and Moustache Girl punched her in the face, knocking her back with a yelp of surprise.

Snatcher saw this and became enraged. Only he is allowed to be invincible in a fight, but more importantly, (even though he'd never admit it) _**ONLY HE WAS ALLOWED TO HURT THEM!**_ So, he turned to the goat next to him and grinned.

"**Let's sign a contract and make this girl get lost, once and for all!**" He muttered to the goat, who nodded in approval, then he summoned a contract, which the goat signed. He chuckled. "**Alright, let's go! I'll create, you throw!**" He instructed the goat, who nodded again, then created an activated cherry bomb, which he passed to the goat, who chucked it into the arena.

Hat Kid saw the cherry and knew what to do, she picked it up and threw it right in Moustache Girl's face, not only did it obliterate the shield, the explosion penetrated it and hit her. While she was stunned, she ran up to her and whacked her with the umbrella.

She snarled angrily and dove into the ground, but they could see her and dodged before she erupted from the ground, and Bow Kid whacked her when she came down. She then bounced high into the air and slammed into the ground, making a shockwave. She did this repeatedly until she tired, and Hat Kid whacked her with her umbrella.

She reactivated her shield, and another cherry was thrown into the arena, which Bow Kid picked up and chucked into Moustache Girl, which blew up her shield, and she was knocked down, and she ran toward her.

However, she had a plan.

Before Bow Kid could whack her, she reactivated her shield, however, not around who you'd think. The shield was around Bow Kid. She looked around in confusion and tilted her head.

"Uh, did you mean to do that?" She asked Moustache Girl, who grinned evilly, then flew into the air, and brought the shield with her, with Bow Kid inside. She began spinning the shield around extremely rapidly for around a minute, and Bow Kid began losing consciousness.

Before that could happen, Moustache Girl broke the shield, sending Bow Kid flying into a wall literally faster than a speeding bullet, releasing a very loud **BOOM **as that happened. She slid down the wall and dropped down to the floor without moving.

Hat Kid rushed to her side immediately, and she tried waking her up, but she was knocked out cold. Suddenly, pure rage began circling through her mind once again.

How dare she?

_How dare she?_

_**HOW DARE SHE ATTACK HER FIRST OFFICER?!**_

She turned to Moustache Girl and got up, giving her a look of intense hatred, which only made her raise an eyebrow.

"You're going to regret that," She told Moustache Girl calmly, who just snorted. They began fighting again, and Moustache Girl created a shield around herself again, but more cherries came in, and she was getting impatient.

"**ENOUGH!**" She yelled, then flew up into the center of the arena and shot a death ray down into the spectator area, killing multiple crows, Mafia, minions, Express Owls, and more.

"NO!" Hat Kid screamed, and she tried chucking a potion at Moustache Girl, but she dodged and shot a laser at Hat Kid, knocking her back into the wall as well. She groaned, and tried getting up, but her entire body was burned from the laser and she was exhausted from the battle, so she just fell onto her hands and knees.

Moustache Girl slowly walked over to her, ready to finish her off, but an idea came into a Mafia Goon's head, and he turned to his comrade.

"Oh, when Mafia die, Mafia drop health pons, this give Mafia an idea!" He began, and everyone turned to him in confusion. "Little hat girl need help to turn back time. If Mafia die, little hat girl get useful pons. Mafia has to die to save world!"

His fellow Mafia member was shocked. "What?! Plan is crazy!" He yelled.

"Fellow Mafia no worry. If little girl succeed, Mafia come back when Time rewinds! Now, punch me with all your might, fellow Mafia! No hesitation!" He shouted bravely, and the other Mafia nodded.

They both shouted the same thing as the one Mafia punched the other: "Red-hooded girl, GET LOST!" The Mafia picked up his friend's death pons with great sadness and turned to Hat Kid.

"Hat girl, here, take these!" He shouted as he tossed her the pons, and their life force began healing her immediately, and she got up and smiled sadly.

Conductor chuckled. "Oh, those Mafia lads, so foolishly brave. But, eh, what's the point of livin' if I ain't got me train anyway?"

The penguin and the girl both turned to him and gasped. "Alright, DJ Grooves, the two of us are gonna help this lil' hat lass. Get ready for a mean punch, and ye aim for me face, that's me weak spot!"

"I can't do that, darling!" The DJ shouted in shock.

"Like the Mafia lad said, we'll come back when Time rewinds. Trust me as your rival, and trust the lass' strength," He explained, and the DJ nodded. "This angry red lass needs to GET LOST!"

The two birds punched eachother and died, and they dropped heart pons, which levitated toward Hat Kid, who silently cried at their loss. She grabbed the pons instead of using them and brought them to Bow Kid, but to her dismay, they wouldn't go in, and that meant only one thing.

"No... no it can't be. Not again!" She screamed, "This can't be happening! Come on!" She tried multiple times, even forcing them in, but they wouldn't work. Bow Kid had died from that attack. Hat Kid fell to her knees and began crying, but remembered something. If she won, she'd get the Time Pieces back and rewind Time, then Bow Kid would be back.

She nodded, silently paid her respects to Bow Kid, and got up and stared Moustache Girl in the eye, and everybody began clashing to die to give Hat Kid heart pons. She got hundreds upon hundreds of heart pons, and gasped at the sheer power coursing through her veins.

She had the strength, the power, the life force, and the undying will of an entire army.

She became a one girl army, and became so powerful an aura of white and gold began emanating from her.

"W-what is this? If everyone disappears but me, then I'd be all alone! Bad guys, stop it!" She shouted desperately.

"No, **YOU'RE **the bad guy! Get lost!" The Mafia Boss shouted, then Hat Kid set her power to counteract Moustache Girl's, and the whole dimension rumbled.

"M-my powers are disappearing?" She muttered.

Then, the two most powerful being in the Universe stared eachother down, then began fighting.

Time Pieces began raining from the sky as adrenaline pumped through both girls' veins, and Moustache Girl teleported around the arena extremely rapidly, and punched Hat Kid in the face, who was knocked back, but felt no pain, as she was healed immediately. She whacked Moustache Girl in the face.

She retreated, then shot a death ray out, which Hat Kid jumped over and dove toward her, but she teleported away multiple times, but Hat Kid was fast and was able to attack her before she could teleport away.

She then hovered in the air and threw down a ton of Time Pieces, making Hat Kid's eyes widen, and she didn't have enough time to dodge before they exploded, and she was knocked back, but she got up and whacked Moustache Girl as she came down.

Moustache Girl then bounced up and down across the arena, making shockwaves, but Hat Kid caught her and hit her. She was absolutely furious, she had had enough.

She teleported into the center of the arena and shot her death ray out, and Hat Kid jumped over it, but she stopped and shot a new laser in her path, and kept the laser on her as she fell to the ground.

She held her arm up and a shield of light came out, and she stepped back and groaned, she wasn't strong enough to hold this laser back for long. The laser pierced the shield and Moustache Girl put every single bit of her power into it, a desperate final attack in a bid to destroy her hatted foe, and Hat Kid screamed out in agony as it felt like her entire body was disintegrating.

However, she kept getting healed, and she decided to give Moustache Girl a taste of her own medicine by using her power to teleport behind her, and before she could dodge out of the way, Hat Kid channeled all of her power into her umbrella and whacked Moustache Girl in the face as hard as she could, causing light to fill the arena, and Moustache Girl fell flat on her face on the ground, and they were back in the throne room.

All of the Time Pieces assembled into a giant ball, and Hat Kid stepped in front of Moustache Girl and stared down at her, who looked up weakly, and Hat Kid blew her a raspberry, and she fell back down to the ground, out cold.

Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear and grabbed the ball of Time Pieces, doing a little jig before holding it above her head and throwing it on the ground, rewinding Time.


	49. Chapter 48: A Tale Of Two Children

Chapter 48: A Tale of Two Children

**A/N: Did you like that twist? I wasn't sure how the whole Pon mechanic would work with two players so I decided to keep it how it was basically designed, a one player boss fight. Nothing against Bow Kid, of course. How I feel now that this is over is the same way I felt when the game was over. Sad. At least I'm writing a prequel and a sequel.**

When Hat Kid opened her eyes, she was back on the spaceship, and Bow Kid was there as well, looking around, disoriented. Bow Kid saw her captain and smiled at her, and Hat Kid tackled her to the ground in a hug, causing her to release an 'oof'.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," She apologized, and Bow Kid hugged her back.

"Shh, don't say anything," Bow Kid said quietly, and they stayed like that for a minute, just a hug, a bond between sisters shared by not many people.

"Don't ever do that again, please," Hat Kid begged Bow Kid and nuzzled into her shoulder, causing her hat to fall off.

"I promise with my life," Bow Kid promised, and they slowly got up, and Hat Kid remembered something and they dashed over to the hatch, relieved to see the planet back to normal. Hat Kid closed the hatch gleefully and sat in the captain's chair and pulled out the control pad, then playfully pressed some buttons, releasing a "Boop!" as she pressed the last one, and Bow Kid giggled.

Then, the vault opened and sucked all the Time Pieces into it, then it shut itself, and they turned to the monitor, overjoyed to see 46/46 Time Pieces accounted for. Hat Kid put her hand on a control stick, and Bow Kid sat down in her first officer's chair as Hat Kid cranked the control stick forward, causing the ship's hyperdrive to charge up, and the ship lurched forward but stopped abruptly, causing everything inside it to jolt.

Both girls were stunned by the sudden stop, but Hat Kid got up, flicked her hat up in irritation, and checked the computer, which said something had latched onto the ship. She stomped over to the hatch of the ship and opened it to see what debris had gotten stuck on the ship, and gasped at what she saw.

Bow Kid came over, and her jaw dropped at the sight. A Mafia Goon, Snatcher, DJ Grooves, and the Conductor had held on to the side of the ship, but why?

The Mafia Goon seemed close to crying. "Don't leave us!" He begged desperately.

Snatcher pulled out a contract, which Hat Kid could see was called: "Stay and Have Fun" and it's objectives were: "Be Nice", all of the forest would be available, and at the bottom it said "Please, be my BFF." It was a refined version of the contract that Hat Kid and Bow Kid had tricked Snatcher into signing. It made them both smile warmly.

"**Hey, kiddos, let's sign another contract!**" He said with a twinge of desperation.

DJ Grooves held his microphone close to Conductor's mouth so he could speak and have them hear. "Oh, don't ye dare leave, lasses!" He begged desperately as well.

DJ Grooves brought his microphone back to his face. "Let's watch our movies, darlings!" He suggested desperately, but Hat Kid picked up a comically large broom and held it out the hatch, and prepared to thrust it in the Mafia Goon's face.

The Mafia Goon flinched and closed his eyes, but he wasn't shoved in the face with a broom. He opened one eye, and saw the broom near his face, shaking, and looked to see Hat Kid shaking and sniffling, tears running down her face.

"Y-you actually want us to stay? After all of the trouble we've caused?" She asked surprisedly, and everyone nodded.

"Ye've caused more good than harm, lass! Let us in your ship to explain why ye want to leave so badly!" He shouted, and Hat Kid held the broom out for the Mafia to grab, which he did, and then Hat Kid pulled everyone inside.

"W-we want to stay, we really, really do, but we can't," She explained sadly.

"Why, darling?" DJ Grooves asked.

"Do you want the long story, or the short story?" Hat Kid responded.

"We want a full explanation of why the peck ye want to leave!" Conductor yelled, and Hat Kid sighed.

"Long story it is, then," She muttered.

She cleared her throat, then began. "As some of you already know, we're both aliens. We don't come from the same planet, but I'll begin with my story. I am a Time Lord, from planet 2XCAVB-a, or as we called it: Planet Chronos,"

"Mafia watch TV show about doctor Time Lord," The Mafia Goon grumbled, and Hat Kid turned beet red.

"No, no, no, no, no. Not like that. I know that show, and this is much different. We're called the Time Lords because of who we worship and because we created the Time Pieces. Basically, some people on my planet are elected to search for and handle Time Pieces, and I happen to be the youngest of that group of people. My parents also had the same role, but..."

She cleared her throat again, then shook her head. "I was an accident, never meant to happen, but when I was born, they didn't want me to get in their way or hold them down, so they abandoned me, left me to die in a dark alleyway, with nothing but my birth certificate," She explained sadly.

Hearing this infuriated everyone, even the Mafia Goon and Snatcher.

"**What kind of person abandons their own daughter?!**" Snatcher grumbled, "**I steal and eat souls and I wouldn't even do something as cruel as that!**"

"Mafia has found new person Mafia wants to punch," The Mafia Goon muttered.

"If your parents come by here, I'll give them a piece of my mind!" DJ Grooves hissed.

"Ohh, whoever they are, I'll be pecked if I let some Time Piece collectin' peck necks get away with betraying their own peckin' daughter!" Conductor yelled.

Hat Kid smiled anxiously. "Well, you're not going to get the chance. About a year after I was elected to search for Time Pieces, a criminal from my planet snuck aboard my ship and stole some Time Pieces from me, which I could've prevented if I hadn't been careless. He used them to give himself immense power and conquer my planet, and enslave most of my people, but it gets even worse," She continued.

"Darling, how could it get any worse than that? Your home was taken from you!" DJ Grooves asked concernedly.

"My parents didn't escape the planet, for better or for worse, but that isn't why I want to go back," She stated sadly, "This spaceship was built by my guardian as a reward for becoming the youngest person to be elected Timekeeper, which is what the people who search for Time Pieces are called. However, I couldn't run the ship at maximum efficiency by myself, so I hired a crew, not much older than myself. My crew were the only people I could consider my friends, and the pathetic excuse of a man that stole the Time Pieces from me, guess what he did."

"He captured them?" Conductor guessed, and Hat Kid shook her head sadly.

"Worse. He kidnapped every one of them, and I tried confronting him, negotiating with him, even sacrificing myself, but he beat me easily, ignored my negotiations, and kicked me out of the way," She hissed furiously, "He beat me down, then... t-then he killed all of my crew, right in front of me, just to taunt and spite me, and he didn't even give me time to mourn before he attacked me and harassed me, calling me worthless, useless, and far worse. I will never forgive him for what he did."

"So, uh, why exactly do you want to go back?" Conductor asked with confusion, and Hat Kid turned to look at everyone, and Conductor froze when he saw the look on her face, the very same look she gave him after he stabbed her friend.

"I just want to look him in the eye as I take it all back and take every single thing that he took from me, away from him," She said slowly and maliciously, "Even if it kills me."

Nobody knew how to respond. They all thought she was the happiest little girl in the Universe, almost always with a smile on her face and light in her eyes.

But now?

Now they saw a different side. A dark side. Seeing this bloodlust, will for reveange, and hatred, it scared them. What scared them most, however, was her eyes.

Where they once saw happiness, joy, optimism, innocence, and mercy, they now saw sadness, anger, malice, hatred, and mercilessness. It was like she had suddenly become the same, yet the opposite, of what she typically was.

Then the darkness in her eyes faded and she scratched her head sheepishly.

"Other than simply for reveange and to avenge my crew, I feel like it's my responsibility to fight. It is basically my fault this happened, so I feel like I need to reap what I have sewn, you know?" She explained awkwardly, "After that, my guardian sacrificed himself to get me off the planet safely, and shortly after that, I met Bow."

"She stopped at a planet, but the planet was made unstable, because the people mined the core, and managed to save one person," Bow Kid said, "Me. She let me come with her, and appointed me as her first officer. I felt like I owed her my life, so that's why I want to come with her and help her, and also why I took the knife for her in the Award Ceremony incident."

"**Well, kiddos, if leaving is so important, we won't stop you,**" Snatcher stated.

"Go get 'em, darlings," DJ Grooves said,

"Make that Time Piece stealin', people killin', planet doomin' peck neck pay!" Conductor yelled.

"Since Mafia cannot punch person, punch him for Mafia!" The Goon ordered.

Both girls grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh, trust us, we will," Hat Kid said smugly, then everyone climbed out as both girls waved goodbye, and they waved back.

Hat Kid sat down in her chair, and Bow Kid in hers, and then both girls began crying quietly.

"We'll return, I promise!" Hat Kid yelled at the top of her lungs as she engaged the hyperdrive and the spaceship took off faster than light.


End file.
